Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[swbrotha100]

So I was on the ADOT website the other day. According to ADOT, more than 75% of US 93 in Arizona is 4 lane divided highway. Definitely better than back in the early 1990s. Any thoughts? Unlike the Nevada section, I don't see much conversion towards a future I-11 anytime soon, but I guess that could change.

[dfwmapper]

The Antelope Wash section will be finished in a couple months. The SR 71 to SR 89 section is starting construction soon. The Carrow-Stephens section (search Google Maps for Gunsight Canyon, Arizona) is in design, and was scheduled for construction in FY2016 but got bumped tentatively to FY2023. The Cane Springs section is a 2016 design, and whenever they get money construction (probably FY2027 or later unless money starts raining from the sky). That leaves the east I-40 interchange, a couple miles on the north side of Wikieup, 20+ miles between the Santa Maria River and SR 71 (i.e. where the Joshua trees are), and whatever ends up happening with Wickenburg. It's good progress, but there's a lot of work to go, and no real plans on what will be done or when besides the handful of projects I just mentioned. Arizona is broke and everything that can be deferred is being deferred to free up money for pavement preservation, so it may be another 15 years before anything else gets rolling.

[Henry]

I wouldn't hold my breath for a future I-11 conversion either, but the way things are going, we just might get to see it within the next 25 years or so.

[707]

My main hope is that they get US 93 updated to four lanes as soon as possible. In the mean time, they should redirect at least the truck traffic from Las Vegas to Phoenix down I-17. My family often uses all of US 93 and the congestion along the narrow sections worries me at times.

[707]

I've subscribed to updates from ADOT. Recently I got an email updating the progress on US 93. Seems ADOT is fairly optimistic that the four lane conversion will be done around 2016. The email goes as follows:

Day work requires minimal delays this week on US 93 west of Wickenburg
Work scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday
                                                                                       
Work continues on the expansion project on US 93 (mileposts 185-190) west of Wickenburg and will require minimal delays this week on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 24 and 25 between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. as crews place temporary concrete barrier and restripe the roadway. Drivers will be guided with flaggers and stopped intermittently at various locations throughout the work zone.

ADOT began this expansion project in February to widen US 93 between State Route 71 and State Route 89. The $12.5 million project, reconstructing the highway into four lanes, is expected to be completed in 2016.

The work zone will be clearly marked by temporary barricades and signage. ADOT advises drivers to allow additional time to reach their destinations and to proceed through the work zone with caution, comply with the reduced speed limit, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.

For more information about this project, please call Tricia Lewis at 928-606-2420 or email tlewis@azdot.gov.

----

Don't know if this will help, but the news article below states Arizona approved a $15 Million Environmental Study for I-11 in December 2014. It also seems the proposed extension to Tucson/Nogales for the project hasn't died either.

http://kjzz.org/content/78150/arizona-state-transportation-board-approves-15m-i-11-environmental-study

[The Ghostbuster]

How long before we see Interstate 11 shields along US 93? I'd say it will be quite some time before that happens.

[pumpkineater2]

How long before we see Interstate 11 shields along US 93? I'd say it will be quite some time before that happens.

 Do you mean signs designating the future I-11 corridor?

 If so, there were some signs put up quite a while ago; I believe they were near the hoover dam bypass. There may be others.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1745&bih=903&q=I-+11+future+corridor&oq=I-+11+future+corridor&gs_l=img.3...2348.11926.0.12333.23.7.0.16.0.0.124.733.3j4.7.0.msedr...0...1ac.1.64.img..

[707]

How long before we see Interstate 11 shields along US 93? I'd say it will be quite some time before that happens.

Not sure, but my guess is between 2021 and 2026.

[roadfro]

How long before we see Interstate 11 shields along US 93? I'd say it will be quite some time before that happens.

Well, the linked article mentions that the Arizona environmental study for the Nogales—Wickenburg portion (includes Phoenix) is going to take 3 years. Add a couple years to finalize design and another couple years for construction, assuming you could build it all at once...means 707's guess of 2021-2026 might be a pretty good one.

[english si]

Do you mean signs designating the future I-11 corridor?

 If so, there were some signs put up quite a while ago; I believe they were near the hoover dam bypass. There may be others.

Most of those pictures are the show signs for the press day with the Governors, which were on the Hoover Dam.

The real ones are southbound south of where the Hoover Dam bypass ends, northbound north of I-40 at Kingman and southbound south of I-40 exit 71 (and northbound at Wickenburg?), interestingly they mark out the non-freeway portions of the road, presumably so they don't have to move signs when earlier parts of the project open (Boulder City bypass, Kingman bypass) and can allow proper I-11 signs on the freeway portions.

[dfwmapper]

How long before we see Interstate 11 shields along US 93? I'd say it will be quite some time before that happens.

Well, the linked article mentions that the Arizona environmental study for the Nogales—Wickenburg portion (includes Phoenix) is going to take 3 years. Add a couple years to finalize design and another couple years for construction, assuming you could build it all at once...means 707's guess of 2021-2026 might be a pretty good one.

Except that it's likely there will be a decade or two of nothing in between when the design is finished and construction starts because Arizona has no money to pay for it. As it stands now, there will be around 30 miles of US 93 still undivided by the end of 2026, and upgrading those sections would have to be a priority over any freeway construction except the new Kingman interchange. And the environmental stuff on about 20 miles of that will be a fun battle with the environmental groups because of the impacts to the Joshua tree forest. Plus another 5 miles for a bypass of Wikieup.

[splashflash]

How long before we see Interstate 11 shields along US 93? I'd say it will be quite some time before that happens.

Well, the linked article mentions that the Arizona environmental study for the Nogales—Wickenburg portion (includes Phoenix) is going to take 3 years. Add a couple years to finalize design and another couple years for construction, assuming you could build it all at once...means 707's guess of 2021-2026 might be a pretty good one.

Except that it's likely there will be a decade or two of nothing in between when the design is finished and construction starts because Arizona has no money to pay for it. As it stands now, there will be around 30 miles of US 93 still undivided by the end of 2026, and upgrading those sections would have to be a priority over any freeway construction except the new Kingman interchange. And the environmental stuff on about 20 miles of that will be a fun battle with the environmental groups because of the impacts to the Joshua tree forest. Plus another 5 miles for a bypass of Wikieup.

https://wickenburgsun.com/news/7464/traffic-switch-on-us-93-near-wikieup-scheduled-for-sept-21/
The three miles of four-laning between milepost 119 to 116 will be completed this fall and traffic has been rerouted to northbound lanes until work on the southbound is completed.   There are not a lot of stretches north of SR 97 still needing twinning; most are between Wickenburg and fifteen miles north of SR 71.  The road between SR 74 and SR 89 is being four-laned with round-abouts. 

Grade separation south of I-40, for interstate status is another story.

[Max Rockatansky]

Considering how wasteful I-11 is planned to be south of Wickenburg I would settle with a fully four lane US 93 to I-40.  Given the US 93/I-40 interchange is being upgraded that would really solve the majority of the remaining traffic problems that were present between AZ 303 and Las Vegas.  I think we’ll probably see an I-11 between I-15 and I-40, the rest I would probably would say is a 50/50 likelihood at this point. 

[The Ghostbuster]

If Interstate 11 is eventually built as presently proposed in Arizona, along US 93 and beyond, I wonder where mile 0 will be. Usually north-south Interstates have their mile 0 at their southern terminus, or their southern entry point. However, I can see Interstate 11's mile 0 being at the Nevada/Arizona border, with mileposts and exit numbers increasing as one went south. That way they wouldn't have to keep renumbering the exits, like they would if mile 0 was at Interstate 11's future southern terminus, wherever that may be.

[707]

If Interstate 11 is eventually built as presently proposed in Arizona, along US 93 and beyond, I wonder where mile 0 will be. Usually north-south Interstates have their mile 0 at their southern terminus, or their southern entry point. However, I can see Interstate 11's mile 0 being at the Nevada/Arizona border, with mileposts and exit numbers increasing as one went south. That way they wouldn't have to keep renumbering the exits, like they would if mile 0 was at Interstate 11's future southern terminus, wherever that may be.

I second this idea, given the exact length and placement of the route south of Wickenburg has yet to be fully determined. Plus, it would be less expensive to arrange the mileposts exactly as shown on US 93. Given Arizona's tendency to recycle pre-existing mileposts on new highways, I wouldn't put it past ADOT to leave it as is.

Alternatively, while on the subject of US 93 mileposts, I've been hypothesizing that the mileposts are leftovers from the US 466 extension into Arizona in 1935 or from the SR 93/Nogales Extension Pipedream days. Some anecdotal evidence from Richard Weingroff's writings and studies on the Federal Highway Administration's official website seem to hint US 466's entry into Arizona predated US 93 by as much as a few months. If that is indeed the case, it would be against usual ADOT practice to place US 466 as the primary highway over US 93, though documentation as far back as 1939 shows US 466 being the primary designation on the route despite the US 93/US 466 duality being extant. Then when US 466 was decommissioned from Arizona, they left the mileposts as is similar to the case with US 60, as it saved time and money to redo the entire highway by changing the location of MP 0.00. My other guess is the mileposts have always reflected US 93, but due to Arizona's constant ambitions of extending US 93 to Phoenix, Casa Grande and/or Nogales, it made more sense to put MP 0.00 at the Hoover Dam rather than at the southern end. The logic there being if US 93 was extended south incrementally, the location of MP 0.00 would need to be changed quite frequently and it would save a lot of time and expenses to have it the other way around. The earliest ADOT logs available also show all mileposts and associated mileage on SR 93 being a direct continuation of US 93's, which would help support the second hypothesis. If I had to choose one or the other, I'd go with hypothesis number two, given it makes more logical sense than US 93 being subversive to US 466. And if number two is indeed the case, that would suggest which direction ADOT would go with the I-11 mileposts when completed.

[splashflash]

Carrow to Stephens, milepost 116 to 119

https://www.spl.usace.army.mil/Media/Public-Notices/Article/1393419/spl-2014-00259-jmr-us-93-carrow-to-stephens/

Cane Springs, mp 106 to 108.9, will be next, and seems to be scheduled for design next year, shown in future projects, and the map shows in 2023 for construction.

[kdk]

Pierce Ferry Road seems to be the next up for a freeway grade interchange.  I agree it's the busiest of all the intersections still at-grade between I-40 and the NV state line.

Study info here- https://azdot.gov/sites/default/files/media/2020/09/TW1-US93-PierceFerry-082120.pdf

[The Ghostbuster]

I would put a full diamond interchange at this location. I looked at the two alternatives from the study, and neither one of them makes sense to me.

[rte66man]

I would put a full diamond interchange at this location. I looked at the two alternatives from the study, and neither one of them makes sense to me.

+1. Can't figure out why they don't go whole hog with a full diamond since Alt 1 already get them halfway there. Alt 2 is just stupid. Take lots of land and an expensive flyover for a single directional move.

[kdk]

I would put a full diamond interchange at this location. I looked at the two alternatives from the study, and neither one of them makes sense to me.

+1. Can't figure out why they don't go whole hog with a full diamond since Alt 1 already get them halfway there. Alt 2 is just stupid. Take lots of land and an expensive flyover for a single directional move.

I guess they are just trying to figure out what they can get done as fast as possible with as little cost as possible to resolve the backups from southbound traffic turning left.  I agree if you are doing part just do it all, but at least Alt A gets them halfway and isn't a "throwaway" improvement for the full interstate improvements.

[DJStephens]

It's Half a diamond interchange.  (Alt 1) Sure seems stupid, though, to build Half of it instead of the whole thing at once.   How much more would it really be to just build the whole thing?  You would have the construction company all set up at that remote location.  At least it's not Design Regressive, though, it does appear to conform to established standards.   

[JKRhodes]

It's Half a diamond interchange.  (Alt 1) Sure seems stupid, though, to build Half of it instead of the whole thing at once.   How much more would it really be to just build the whole thing?  You would have the construction company all set up at that remote location.  At least it's not Design Regressive, though, it does appear to conform to established standards.

A similar situation to Alt 1 was proposed for US 60 at SR 79 back in the 90s when there was a pressing need to address the number of fatal accidents, as the vast majority were attributable to northbound traffic failing to yield to eastbound traffic.

It was refreshing to see good sense prevail when the roadway was relocated and a full diamond was constructed in 2003.

Similarly, it makes sense to go ahead and build a full diamond in this instance, especially when Interstate Standard is the long term goal. Plus there's plenty of room so I'm at a loss as to why they would propose such an asinine idea here.

[Sub-Urbanite]

It's Half a diamond interchange.  (Alt 1) Sure seems stupid, though, to build Half of it instead of the whole thing at once.   How much more would it really be to just build the whole thing?  You would have the construction company all set up at that remote location.  At least it's not Design Regressive, though, it does appear to conform to established standards.

A similar situation to Alt 1 was proposed for US 60 at SR 79 back in the 90s when there was a pressing need to address the number of fatal accidents, as the vast majority were attributable to northbound traffic failing to yield to eastbound traffic.

It was refreshing to see good sense prevail when the roadway was relocated and a full diamond was constructed in 2003.

Similarly, it makes sense to go ahead and build a full diamond in this instance, especially when Interstate Standard is the long term goal. Plus there's plenty of room so I'm at a loss as to why they would propose such an asinine idea here.

Two theories:

1. They aren't anticipating funds to be available for a full diamond through the next STIP cycle
2. Whoever is in charge of the project was told to focus on safety only.

The half-diamond isn't … bad. It's just weird. I mean, to me it seems like if you're going to do the half diamond, at least make it a full interchange with a left exit with ramps.

[Henry]

Something tells me that I-11 will be finished to Kingman before the parts south to Phoenix/Tucson/Nogales/wherever are. In this case, it would make sense, especially considering the uncertainty of its route past Wickenburg.

[kdk]

The "Carrow Springs" project north of Wikieup is pretty much finished and all four lanes open when I drove this a little over a week ago.  Now there's only one section between Wikieup and I-40 where it's not widened besides the interchange.  It looks like the other- the "Cane Springs" is up next after the widening through Wickenburg.

The only major issues now are still the usual backups at the I-40/93 Beale St interchange, and what's called the "Big Jim Wash" section.

The Big Jim Wash area, mainly southbound has become a real problem over the past couple of years.  With the increasing amount of truck traffic and an incline when heading SB and no passing lanes for about 6 miles, it's become the slowest part of the drive.  Trucks tend to slow to 35-40 MPH because of the incline and NB traffic is to the point it's not possible to safely pass them.  This is the area just immediately south of the original widened section of 93, about halfway between Wickenburg and Wikieup.
I noticed this section popped up as planned for a 2023 widening though.