The Orange Grove Road interchange at Interstate 10 will close on Wednesday as crews begin to rebuild and widen the roadway from Ruthrauff to Ina Roads.
Starting at 5 a.m., the closure will include all exit and entrance ramps except for the I-10 westbound off-ramp, a news release from the Arizona Department of Transportation said. The closure will remain in place until late 2024.
The closure is due to a $171 million ADOT project that aims to improve the safety and traffic flow on a four-mile section of the I-10 by adding a fourth traffic lane in each direction and by adding lanes to the exit and entrance ramps at the Orange Grove and Sunset Road interchanges, the news release said.
Once the project is done in late 2025, the I-10 will carry four lanes of traffic from 22nd Street to Ina Road.
The project will also rebuild the Sunset Road interchange so new bridges carry it over the I-10, the news release said. At the same time, a project funded by Pima County will be extending Sunset Road east to River Road with new bridges over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and the Rillito River.
While crews work on the project, the Sunset Road interchange will close this spring until the project’s completion.
According to the news release, other key improvements the project include:
rebuilding the Orange Grove Road interchange to allow for higher clearance;
replacing the bridges at Canada del Oro Wash and Rillito River;
constructing an access path to the Chuck Huckelberry Loop from Sunset Road;
and working on lighting, landscaping and drainage.
For most of the project, traffic will be shifted to the I-10 frontage roads. ADOT said they will minimize traffic impacts by keeping three lanes of traffic open during peak hours and restrict lanes only overnight.
While the Orange Grove and Sunset Road interchanges are closed, ADOT advises drivers to use Ruthrauff and Ina Roads as alternate routes.
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