ADOT's & Phoenix's Road Construction Coordination (house, closing, maintenance)

[Magnum Mike]

Or Lack Thereof!

Okay, we've all seen it and experienced it while driving in the Phoenix area, road construction, it's a requirement to keep up with the growth, and it can be frustrating when there's no coordination in construction projects between the different entities involved. Example, closure of I-17's access road in both directions for the projects that extend from Cactus to Greenway Roads. I wanted to get on I-17 southbound from Greenway Rd yesterday and the access road was closed, I figured no big deal, I could get on I-17 from Thunderbird Rd, a mile south of Greenway, so I took 35th Ave to get to Thunderbird Rd and guess what, the access road was also closed from Thunderbird Rd.. That's when I decided to give up and just use surface streets to get to my destination, which was just a couple of miles south. That was when I discovered that there were lane closures on Thunderbird Rd in both directions, which is even more frustrating, especially when there are lane closures and you don't see any construction crews or equipment!

Also, the signs on Greenway Rd that suggested alternate routes to get to the southbound lanes of I-17, which apparently directed me to take 35th Ave to Thunderbird but they had no signs to warn us that the southbound access road was closed and we should continue to Cactus Rd to be able get on I-17 south..

I'm not a construction project coordinator and I'm not an expert on ADOT's and Phoenix's road projects and who owns them but it's obvious that there is a lack of coordination between the entities that own those projects. .

[Sno0909]

Coming from Michigan, I know a thing or two about endless road construction. Phoenix road construction is peanuts compared to much of the country. However, in Michigan they work on the roads by each lane. You may have an entire lane closed for weeks, but never the entire freeway. I've never seen that before until I moved here.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Sno0909

Coming from Michigan, I know a thing or two about endless road construction. Phoenix road construction is peanuts compared to much of the country. However, in Michigan they work on the roads by each lane. You may have an entire lane closed for weeks, but never the entire freeway. I've never seen that before until I moved here.

Yep, it's far more irritating for drivers to be cruising along, and then suddenly having to detour onto a surface street because of a freeway closure. They should be closing lanes to perform the needed maintenance/construction, not shutting down entire freeways for a weekend. The problem with ADOT isn't so much construction issues. It's their overall incompetence, ranging from things like this to the multi million dollar rubberized asphalt boondoggle, and other types of mismanagement. Nevada already has a stretch of I11 fully completed from Vegas to the AZ border. ADOT can't even get the plans for the initial I11 stage past the drawing boards.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Yep, it's far more irritating for drivers to be cruising along, and then suddenly having to detour onto a surface street because of a freeway closure. They should be closing lanes to perform the needed maintenance/construction, not shutting down entire freeways for a weekend. The problem with ADOT isn't so much construction issues. It's their overall incompetence, ranging from things like this to the multi million dollar rubberized asphalt boondoggle, and other types of mismanagement. Nevada already has a stretch of I11 fully completed from Vegas to the AZ border. ADOT can't even get the plans for the initial I11 stage past the drawing boards.

They tell us daily via freeway signs. Check Google maps before you leave. Easy solutions

[Magnum Mike]

Originally Posted by Sno0909

Coming from Michigan, I know a thing or two about endless road construction. Phoenix road construction is peanuts compared to much of the country. However, in Michigan they work on the roads by each lane. You may have an entire lane closed for weeks, but never the entire freeway. I've never seen that before until I moved here.

Well, comparing Michigan and Arizona is like comparing apples and oranges. I've only visited Michigan in the warm months a couple of times and I can't recall seeing anything to wonder about with Michigan roads, at least rural roads and that was in the early 1980s,

As an Arizona native, the incompetence of ADOT's and some of the cities in the Phoenix metro area seens to get worse as the population grows. Although it's rare, it's not uncommon to see entire sections of freeways close during the week, we usually see such closures on weekends, when traffic can be just as bad as it is during the week.

I wouldn't be too surprised if they started closing freeway sections more often during the week.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

They tell us daily via freeway signs. Check Google maps before you leave. Easy solutions

Point being that ADOT could easily follow what most other states do when it comes to construction & maintenance, which is lane closures. There's no reason why they have to shut down freeway sections for an entire weekend. All it does is cause extensive traffic bottlenecks ... more so than just partial closures. ADOT seems to have a backward mentality that people don't commute very much on the weekends, so it won't affect traffic all that much, which is nonsense. There can be heavy traffic on weekends, especially if there are major events.

[KO Stradivarius]

Originally Posted by Sno0909

Coming from Michigan, I know a thing or two about endless road construction. Phoenix road construction is peanuts compared to much of the country. However, in Michigan they work on the roads by each lane. You may have an entire lane closed for weeks, but never the entire freeway. I've never seen that before until I moved here.

A few years ago MDOT actually did shut down I-75 for several miles to reconstruct it.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Point being that ADOT could easily follow what most other states do when it comes to construction & maintenance, which is lane closures. There's no reason why they have to shut down freeway sections for an entire weekend. All it does is cause extensive traffic bottlenecks ... more so than just partial closures. ADOT seems to have a backward mentality that people don't commute very much on the weekends, so it won't affect traffic all that much, which is nonsense. There can be heavy traffic on weekends, especially if there are major events.

Reality is they tell you all week and if you just look online or on your phone you can get around it.

[Magnum Mike]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

They tell us daily via freeway signs. Check Google maps before you leave. Easy solutions

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

Reality is they tell you all week and if you just look online or on your phone you can get around it.

A lot of us have plenty of tasks to do online, my wife and I don't have time to waste before we leave the house every time. Using Google Maps is good for helping us find addresses in areas we're not familiar with, there's no reason to use my smart phone to find routes I already know by using every day just to avoid construction closures.

[Sno0909]

Originally Posted by Undeniably Awesome

I use Google Maps every time I'm driving, even if I know exactly where I'm going, just for the fact that it keeps me updated on closures and any accidents. It will suggest different routes around the issue, so I'm not sitting in traffic wondering what is happening.

Same. I like to know where traffic backup are beforehand. Obviously if you have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto on your vehicle, it makes things much easier.