Crews finish $56M improvement project on I-15 bridge in northwest Arizona
Construction crews finished work on a major bridge on Interstate 15 in northwest Arizona, and it was reopened to traffic in both directions, the Arizona Department of Transportation said Tuesday.
Crews finished I-15 Bridge No. 1, which carries thousands of vehicles daily over the Virgin River Gorge near Littlefield, Arizona, about five hours northwest of Flagstaff. I-15 serves as a key commercial route between Southern California and the Rocky Mountain region.
As part of the I-15 corridor linking Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California, Bridge No. 1 has a new pavement surface and pavement markings. ADOT also added new guardrails and signs along a two-mile stretch of I-15 that includes the upgraded bridge.
Work on the bridge began in 2021 and included replacing the abutments, support piers and bridge deck. ADOT says the improvements will enable the bridge to "safely carry passenger and commercial vehicle traffic for decades to come," a news release stated. The project cost was $56 million, ADOT stated.
ADOT completed a series of improvement projects over the past decade, including pavement deck repairs, on several I-15 bridges along Arizona’s 29-mile stretch of the highway. Projects in the area are challenging due to the steep, winding canyons of the Virgin River Gorge, the release stated.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: I-15 bridge upgrades finished in northwest Arizona
