ST. GEORGE — Beginning Sunday, a construction improvement project will require the closure of Interstate 15 on- and off-ramps at Littlefield, Arizona, Exit 8, as well as Beaver Dam, Arizona, Exit 9. Motorists should expect brief delays while traveling through the work zone through late spring.
The 13-mile pavement improvement project along the Interstate, from the Nevada-Arizona state line to Arizona milepost 13 just before the Virgin River Gorge, will require crews to close the Exit 8 and Exit 9 on- and off-ramps to I-15 in Arizona from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. to allow for paving and curing time, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
Signs indicating detour routes will be in place while the interchange ramps are closed for paving:
- Feb. 21: Southbound Exit 9
- Feb. 22: Southbound Exit 8, including part of crossroad
- Feb. 23: Northbound Exit 8, including part of crossroad
- Feb. 24: Northbound Exit 9
- Feb. 25: Southbound Exit 9
- Feb. 28: Northbound Exit 9
- March 2: Southbound Exit 9
In an effort to minimize travel delays, most of the paving work will take place nightly from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday.
The $10.4 million project includes paving the 13-mile stretch of roadway from mileposts 0 to 13, replacing a bridge barrier, sealing the existing bridge deck and installing new guardrail.
Other construction delays
Motorists are also reminded to plan for additional travel delays while ADOT continues a major reconstruction of the Virgin River Bridge No. 6 at milepost 16, midway between Mesquite, Nevada, and St. George.
The highway is narrowed to one lane in each direction through the work zone until the project is completed in summer 2016. This $27 million project includes the replacement of the bridge’s superstructure (girders, deck and railings), as well as widening the roadway through the narrow passage of the gorge.
With limited alternate routes through this corridor, ADOT officials said, drivers should plan ahead, allow extra travel time, slow down and drive carefully through the work zone, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.
Alternate route
Those seeking to avoid the traffic backup in the Virgin River Gorge may take Highway 91 as an alternate route.
Highway 91 bypasses the Gorge entirely, intersecting with I-15 at Exit 8 in Littlefield, Arizona, to the south and connecting to St. George at the north via Santa Clara and Sunset Boulevard.
Ed. note: Correction made after confirming error in ADOT news release: The paving work described will run from the Nevada-Arizona border 13 miles north on Interstate 15.
Resources
- ADOT – Virgin River Bridges Overview
- ADOT I-15 Virgin River Bridge Project
- ADOT Traveler Information Center | Telephone 511 from within Arizona, 888-411-7623 from outside Arizona
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.
I know what you meant, but that’s not what you wrote. The distance between “just north of Mesquite, Nevada, to the Nevada-Arizona state line” is less than a foot 🙂
We appreciate your keen eye, DB; the report was corrected yesterday after confirming error in ADOT news release: The paving work described will run from the Nevada-Arizona border 13 miles north on Interstate 15.
ST. GEORGE NEWS
Joyce Kuzmanic
Editor in Chief