PHOENIX – Construction of a new interchange at Interstate 10 and Ruthrauff Road is set to begin Monday, Jan. 13. The Arizona Department of Transportation project is expected to reduce delays and improve safety on Ruthrauff Road.
The completed interchange will carry traffic over the freeway and Union Pacific Railroad tracks.
The two-year, $129 million project also will widen the freeway, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).
I-10 will remain open throughout the construction, and lane restrictions are limited to overnight hours.
Interchange ramps will close in late winter or early spring and reopen when the project is complete. Ruthrauff Road and El Camino del Cerro will close at I-10 in late winter or early spring and reopen as the project nears completion in late 2021.
“This is an important project for the Tucson area,” said Rod Lane, of ADOT, in a press release. “The new interchange will allow traffic to move more quickly through the area, and we’re improving safety because drivers will no longer have to cross the railroad tracks.”
The project includes:
ADOT advises drivers to expect intermittent lane restrictions and possible delays in the initial weeks of the project. When the Ruthrauff Road interchange closes in late winter or early spring, alternate routes to I-10 for those on both sides of the freeway include Orange Grove Road to the north and Prince Road to the south. Also to the north of Ruthrauff Road, Sunset Road provides access to I-10 from the west.
The new Ruthrauff Road overpass is expected to open to cross-traffic by fall 2021 only, with the interchange ramps opening later in the year.