Arizona News – The message is simple: slow down and pay attention.
Beginning today, drivers traveling through the I-17 Improvement Project corridor between Anthem Way and Sunset Point will see additional Department of Public Safety troopers looking for drivers who speed and drive recklessly.
This collaborative effort between the Arizona Department of Transportation and DPS is designed to increase safety and reduce the number of crashes in the work zone. The enforcement patrols will focus on hazardous driver behaviors that could create safety issues in the work zone for both travelers and construction crews. ADOT and DPS want to remind drivers about the importance of obeying speed limits, monitoring following distances and avoiding distractions while driving through these work zones.
The speed limit throughout the entire 23-mile I-17 Improvement Project corridor has been 65 mph since the project began in September 2022. DPS troopers will patrol both northbound and southbound I-17, with a particular focus in the Bumble Bee area where work continues on the eight miles of flex lanes. DPS and ADOT also will be conducting commercial vehicle enforcement in the area in accordance with the Arizona Commercial Vehicle Safety Partnership (ACVSP) – a collaboration between both agencies.
The added patrols and enforcement will also be in force during two 12-hour overnight full closures of southbound I-17 in February as the project team takes down the old Bumble Bee bridge. As part of that operation, Bumble Bee Road will be closed in both directions for approximately six weeks.
Bumble Bee Road is frequently used as an emergency pull-off and turn-around area when there is an incident on the I-17 mainline that causes a closure or major back-ups. Emergency responders will often turn traffic around at this traffic interchange. The extra DPS patrols are designed to target hazardous driver behaviors that could lead to crashes and/or incidents occurring while Bumble Bee Road is closed and can’t be used as a turnaround point.
The entire 23-mile stretch of I-17 between Anthem Way and Sunset Point remains under construction through 2025, as the new lanes are constructed and a dozen bridges are either widened or replaced. The 15 miles of new lanes between Anthem Way and Black Canyon City are expected to open this spring once paving is complete, and the eight miles of flex lanes between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point are expected to open later in 2025.
Once fully complete, this major design-build project will help alleviate congestion and improve safety and traffic flow along a Key Commerce Corridor that is crucial to the state’s travel, tourism and economic development opportunities.
For more information about the I-17 Improvement Project or to sign up for the weekly traffic alerts, visit improvingi17.com. For the latest information on highway closures and conditions, visit az511.com.