Speaking

The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) launched the I-10 Deck Park Tunnel to I-10/I-17 Split Freeway Study to tackle persistent safety and congestion challenges on one of Arizona’s busiest corridors—serving over 300,000 vehicles daily. Public input highlighted safety as the top concern, so the study focused on reducing the corridor’s high crash rate—currently averaging five crashes per day.

Using a proactive, data-driven approach, the analysis quantified how design alternatives could reduce speed differentials, a key indicator of turbulent traffic flow strongly correlated to crashes. The recommended solutions target crash hot spots and mitigate vehicle conflicts through implementing braided ramps, ramp relocations, and collector distributor roads. The team worked around several unique design constraints within the dense urban core. The proposed alternatives are projected to boost traffic throughput by 23% and cut average trip delays by 44%.

Join us to discover how targeted design can deliver safer, smoother travel for the region’s drivers. Detailed Description: The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) conducted the I-10 Deck Park Tunnel to I-10/I-17 Split Freeway Study to address critical safety and capacity challenges along one of Arizona’s most congested urban freeway corridors. This segment, serving over 300,000 vehicles daily, is a vital link for downtown Phoenix, adjacent neighborhoods, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, and regional freight movement.

The study’s objectives were to identify operational issues, analyze crash data, and synthesize findings from previous studies to define the corridor’s most pressing problems. A comprehensive crash and operational analysis pinpointed bottlenecks and high crash locations, often linked to speed differentials and turbulent weaving patterns. Public input, gathered through extensive surveys and meetings, helped prioritize community concerns, including neighborhood access and minimizing negative impacts on adjacent areas. The study also accounted for unique corridor constraints, such as the presence of the Deck Park Tunnel, critical drainage infrastructure, and proximity to Sky Harbor airport, which limit feasible design solutions. Traffic modeling was challenged by COVID-19’s impact on data collection, requiring careful calibration to ensure accurate forecasts. Analysis of the corridor’s maximum operational capacity revealed that, without intervention, congestion and delays would worsen as regional growth continues.

The study evaluated the broader impacts—both positive and negative—on the regional freeway system, ensuring solutions would not simply shift congestion elsewhere. Recommended improvements include braided ramps, collector-distributor roads, additional HOV lanes, ramp relocations, and new connections to optimize safety and throughput while preserving access for neighborhoods and the airport. These improvements are projected to increase corridor capacity by up to 23% during peak periods and reduce delay per vehicle by as much as 44%.

This study establishes a framework for future design and construction, forming the basis for investments funded through Proposition 479 and launching the next phase of urban freeway modernization in the Phoenix metropolitan area. This presentation will share the methodology, challenges, and outcomes of the study, offering insights and practical lessons for transportation professionals involved in urban freeway planning and improvement projects.

Asset Management Plans (AMPs) help agencies take an informed approach to bridge maintenance that optimizes expenditures and extends the life of their structures. Burgess & Niple has worked with bridge owners to develop both system-wide and structure-specific bridge AMPs. This presentation will blend bridges and hydraulics with planning preservation and discuss the development of these plans and how agencies are implementing them to improve structure longevity and more accurately predict maintenance and repair costs. This presentation will share the development of these plans and the lessons learned from project setup and scoping. Emphasis on data collection, data refinement and data management in ESRI GIS systems, as well as integration/data crosswalks between GIS and Lucity asset management software, will be discussed.

System-wide AMPs developed for Coconino County, Arizona, and the City of Goodyear, Arizona, as well as a structure-specific AMP developed for the Idaho Transportation Department, will be the basis of the presentation and source for lessons learned.

Both system-wide and structure-specific AMPs help owners make informed decisions to minimize repair costs and more accurately predict future expenses associated with maintenance, repair and replacement of assets. The presentation will discuss the value that active management of bridge assets can offer to agencies and key factors to consider when setting up an asset management project. 

The Town of Gilbert, Arizona, is proactively addressing the challenges of at-grade trail crossings along arterial roadways through Phase 2 of its Trail Safety Crossing Improvement Project. The project includes treatment review and development of over 25 trail crossing sites. A key component in the project was the development of evidence-based guidelines for Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) placement. Recognizing the limitations of existing guidance, particularly the lack of specific minimum spacing criteria, the Town initiated a rigorous study to assess the operational impacts of PHBs in proximity to signalized intersections.

This presentation details a comprehensive microsimulation analysis, utilizing Vissim to model PHB performance under a range of traffic conditions representative of Gilbert's arterial roadways. Scenarios encompassing Level of Service (LOS) D, E and F were evaluated to determine the sensitivity of vehicle queuing to varying PHB-signal spacing distances. The results of this analysis were translated into a user-friendly decision support tool, enabling engineers to efficiently screen potential PHB locations based on crossing distance and average daily traffic volume.

Attendees will gain valuable insights into the operational characteristics of PHBs, the complex interactions between trail crossings and adjacent signalized intersections and a replicable methodology for data-driven site selection. This presentation will demonstrate how Gilbert is leveraging advanced modeling techniques to optimize PHB placement, maximize safety benefits and foster a more walkable and bikeable community.   

With the increase in fatalities in the state of Arizona and within its planning areas, transportation agencies are looking to facilitate a paradigm shift in how safety prioritization can be put into practice. The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) has been developing tools to be used as a resource to make safety a priority across all agency divisions, as well as in programs, projects and initiatives administered by MAG.

The MAG Regional Priority Safety Implementation Toolkit (RPSIT), MAG Intersection (predictive) Safety Tool (MIST) have been under development in the past two years and released in 2025. These tools provide resources to member agencies to include safety elements in projects, provide a more proactive approach, and create redundancy in addressing safety issues within MAG as well as across the region. In addition, MAG worked with the City of Peoria to develop a framework for a native and mobile app for schools, districts and communities as an education, encouragement and engagement tool for safe walking and biking to school. Real applications will be used to demonstrate the tools and findings from these efforts.