As commuter frustration and safety concerns mount over wide-load diversions onto State Highways 83 and 82, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has loosened the width restrictions on Interstate 10 in hopes of minimizing the number of oversized vehicles on the two-lane highways.
The new restrictions allow vehicles up to 16-feet wide to remain on Interstate 10 during bridge repairs between Mileposts 292 and 293. The repairs, scheduled to continue through spring, have reduced both eastbound and westbound traffic to one lane. The previous restrictions required loads wider than 14 feet to detour off of the interstate onto Highways 83, 82 and 90. The extra traffic on Highway 83 has been especially problematic for local residents because of its curvy nature and lack of shoulder and areas to safely pull off the roadway. In addition to frequent delays, numerous commuters said they feared being pushed into ravines or roadside ditches, and at least one Sonoita resident reported that her recreational vehicle was clipped and damaged by a passing load.
Steve Elliott, ADOT’s assistant director of communications, said the revised restrictions were a result of feedback from the community and a letter from District 19 State Rep. Gail Griffin, with the goal of sending fewer “escorted” wide loads on the two-lane highways. Any loads wider than 14 feet are required to have law enforcement escorts and are supposed to be scheduled at 30-minute intervals.
“In response to concerns that were shared with ADOT, we worked with our project contractor to increase the width restriction,” Elliott said. “It is our understanding that this will allow through most—though not all—Class C oversize loads that (were) required to use the detour route. In addition, we’ve included message boards and information on AZ511.”
Griffin sent a letter to ADOT director Jennifer Toth and Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) director Jeffrey Glover on Dec. 29 demanding immediate prohibition of wide loads on Highways 82 and 83.
Griffin said on Monday that ADOT and DPS acknowledged receipt of her letter but she was waiting for further response.
“I’m still on them,” she said. “They’ve had a week now to analyze what they’re doing.”
Griffin said she travels between her home in Hereford and Phoenix on a weekly basis, and what should be a 30-minute stretch between her home and the interstate routinely takes an hour or more. But the delays are secondary to safety concerns.
“Some of the calls I’ve gotten are absolutely unreal,” she said. “For us to allow that to happen is absolutely ridiculous. It’s been very poorly planned.’’
Griffin’s letter called the situation a “life-and-death safety issue” and also noted that Cochise County sheriff Mark Dannels was among those who had been nearly run off the road.
Dannels told the PRT that he and his wife were driving on the 82 near Rain Valley when their vehicle was approached by a DPS wide-load escort. “We pulled over, about 60 percent off the road, and he said you need to get further off the road,” Dannels said. “The problem with that is there was nowhere else to go.”
Highway 82 traverses both Santa Cruz and Cochise County, and though it’s not as narrow or curvy as the 83, Dannels said he’s received numerous complaints from Cochise residents.
“I spoke to DPS about it, looking for solutions with them,” he said. “I know it’s a big issue on my side of the county.
“There’s got to be a better solution than this. People are frustrated. This is an ADOT problem. ADOT needs to fix it.”
While the wider passage on I-10 should reduce the number of escorted wide loads using the two-lane highways, it won’t be a cure-all. Oversized loads—escorted or otherwise—have been a thorn in the side of Highway 83 commuters for years, though not an issue of this magnitude. The problem is that except in metropolitan areas, there are few alternatives for rerouting traffic in any direction in the event of road construction or accidents.
On Saturday, Jan. 3, eastbound I-10 was closed for at least two hours for a traffic incident, forcing all eastbound traffic south on the 83 and east on the 82. Dannels said he heard that traffic was backed up for eight miles.
“The only information I have is that an oversized load became disabled,” said DPS spokesman Kameron Lee. “I am not sure what the cause was.”