ST. GEORGE – Traffic on Interstate 15 through the Virgin River Gorge will be impacted as the Arizona Department of Transportation begins repaving.
Sgt. John Bottoms of the Arizona Department Public Safety said ADOT would begin a construction repaving project starting July 16, with a projected completion date of Oct. 31.
Actual preparation for the repaving begins on Monday, July 16. Restrictions for the following week include:
- From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. MST, Monday, July 16, both directions of I-15 will have shoulder closures between mileposts 12-13 so crews can install warning signs.
- From 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. MST, Tuesday, July 17, southbound I-15 will be narrowed to one lane between mileposts 17-18 as crews begin preparations to repave the road. Speeds will be reduced to 35 mph through the work zone.
“I will have officers assigned specifically to the construction project and they will be aggressively enforcing the reduced speed limits.” Bottoms said in an email to St. George News.
Bottoms said there will be multiple signs marking the slower speeds and warning of double-fines for speeding over 35 mph. As travel will be restricted to single lanes, he said motorists should expect possible delays of 20 to 30 minutes through the construction zone.
Work will take place from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. MST during the week, excluding weekends and holidays.
The projected is estimated to cost $11.6 million, and will repave Arizona’s portion of I-15, from the Virgin River Gorge to the Utah state line (mileposts 13-29).
ADOT is currently conducting a feasibility study to identify needed improvements to I-15 through Arizona, including all eight of the I-15 Virgin River bridges, which were constructed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Last month ADOT successfully secured a $21.6 million federal grant to rehabilitate one of the eight bridges – Virgin River Bridge No. 6 – in the Virgin River Gorge.
While the bridges are still considered safe for travel, they require extensive refurbishment to continue supporting traffic. More than 1.4 million commercial trucks travel annually on Arizona’s portion of the interstate.
Anyone with questions concerning the repaving project can call the Arizona Highway Patrol at 602-223-2212, of the Mackenzie Kirby, senior community relations officer to the Department of Transportation Highway in Flagstaff, Ariz., at 928-779-7554.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MoriKessler
Copyright 2012 St. George News.
I really hope people slow down and use alternate routes. Crashes in the gorge have a history of being tragic. If people saw the long term damage that a whiplash injury does to a spine, and the chronic pain it causes, I believe safety enforcement would get a lot easier. If you want to see some bad spines, stop by my blot and do a search for ‘whiplash’.