The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and Department of Public Safety (DPS) have implemented new traffic controls designed to minimize the disruptions on State Highway 83 due to oversize loads.

The changes relate to loads in excess of 16 feet wide that are being detoured off of Interstate 10 to accommodate bridge reconstruction just west of Benson. 

Amy Love of ADOT noted the changes in an email sent to District 19 State Rep. Gail Griffin, who has pressed for remedies to the safety concerns posed by residents due to the wide loads. Those changes involve:

  • Limiting westbound loads to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Westbound loads in excess of the width restriction are diverted south from I-10 to Highway 90, east on Highway 82 and north on Highway 83 to reconnect with I-10.
  • Limiting eastbound loads, which are detoured in the reverse direction, to Tuesdays and Thursdays.
  • Increasing the interval between loads to 60 minutes, an increase from the previous interval of 30 minutes.
  • Scheduling the first load departure at 8 a.m. and the final departure at 1 p.m. to ensure all loads are off the roadway before peak rush-hour traffic.

Loads that are less than 16 feet wide are not required to detour off of I-10, and loads less than 14 feet wide do not require law enforcement escorts. 

Love’s correspondence indicated that the new limits have significantly reduced the number of escorted loads on Highway 83: a total of 15 from Dec. 31 through Jan. 15, with no more than three on any given day. In December, there had been as many as 10 escorted loads on a single day.

Commuters may still see more oversize traffic than those numbers indicate, because some of the loads being transported on Highways 83 and 82 do not fall within these size limitations (i.e., less than 14 feet wide) and thus would not be affected by the new restrictions. But those loads are not a result of the I-10 construction.

The oversize load issue came to a head in December, with numerous reports of significant delays and commuters fearing for their safety while being directed off the curvy two-lane Highway, which has no shoulder in most places. Sonoita resident Sandy Wolf reported that her recreational vehicle was clipped by an oversize load, with repairs estimated in excess of $10,000.

The bridge construction project is scheduled to be completed this spring. Love’s email to Griffin said “crews are working extended hours and on some weekends; we are unable to add any more resources because the contractor has other projects that would suffer.”