The Ina Interchange Project continues to progress on schedule. Over the next three months there will be a lot happening with the project, including some changes to traffic flow in the area.
Motorists travelling westbound on I-10 have seen the concrete pillars put into place and the first portions of the bridge structure being constructed. On the other side of the freeway the structure for the bridge over eastbound I-10 has been progressing. Crews are tentatively scheduled to pour the bridge deck for that portion of the bridge the first week of November.
Eastbound I-10 traffic will shift from the “old” road to the new eastbound I-10 pavement, which will go under the Ina Road Bridge. The shift in traffic is tentatively planned for mid-December.
December should also see Ina Road traffic shifted to the new bridge over the Santa Cruz River. This is currently scheduled for the end of the month. Once traffic moves to the new bridge, the old bridge will be demolished and a second new bridge will be constructed. When finished each bridge will hold two lanes of traffic, expanding that portion of Ina from two lanes to four.
The next big move will be to have westbound I-10 traffic also shift to the new eastbound I-10 pavement. Traffic in both directions will use this portion of the roadway. Upon completion of the interstate, traffic in each direction will be increased to three lanes. The project has been designed so that further widening of the interstate can happen in the future.
The move of the westbound traffic is expected to happen in late January 2018.
This will allow work to begin on the new westbound lanes, demolition of the remaining old roadway, and further construction of Ina Road over I-10.
All of the dates are tentative and according to Arizona Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Tom Herrman and “dates can change” but so far the project is on schedule.
The purpose of the interchange reconstruction project is to improve traffic operations on I-10 and on the Ina Road traffic interchange. The project consists of widening I-10 to three lanes in each direction and Ina Road to two lanes in each direction from Silverbell Road to Camino de la Cruz.
The project will enhance safety by eliminating the existing atgrade crossing of Ina Road and the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and building an overpass taking Ina Road over I-10. I-10 will be lowered as part of the new Ina Road overpass construction. The project will also construct two structures over the Santa Cruz River. The eastbound and westbound frontage roads will be elevated to intersect with the new vertical alignment of Ina Road.
