Two oversized loads passing through Benson Sunday morning will bring delays on eastbound Interstate 10 and State Route 90

Thirty-minute closures at Exit 302 scheduled for 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

April 18, 2012

Eastbound Interstate 10 will be closed at the State Route 90 interchange in Benson for two brief periods on Sunday morning (April 22) to allow two trailers carrying oversized loads to travel west on the eastbound lanes in order to avoid the underpass at SR 90 which can't accommodate the size of their loads.

The first oversized load, a 180-foot semi-tractor weighing nearly 600,000 pounds, will enter the eastbound lanes of I-10 using the exit ramp at the State Route 80 exit (Exit 303) at 7 a.m. Sunday. The truck, carrying an industrial turbine to a California energy plant, will exit I-10 using the SR 90 entrance ramp (Exit 302) within 30 minutes of the interstate closure.

State Route 90 also will be closed in both directions at the I-10 overpass during this time.

Once the first truck has cleared the area, traffic will be allowed to move through the area for one hour before the second closure goes into effect at approximately 8:30 a.m.

The second closure also is expected to last approximately 30 minutes and will include the closure of eastbound I-10 and SR 90 at the I-10 overpass. That truck, also carrying a turbine to California, is 165 feet long and also weighs just under 600,000 pounds.

The closures are necessary since the trucks are too large to exit westbound I-10 and get through the underpass onto SR 90 and too heavy for a bridge on State Route 82 that would otherwise provide an alternate route.

Westbound I-10 traffic will not be affected.

Motorists are advised to avoid the area during these scheduled closures if possible and expect half-hour delays at approximately 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

Additional closures may be necessary and ADOT will provide information about any future closures before they occur.

For more information about this project please visit www.azdot.gov/statewide or contact C.T. Revere, Safford District Community Relations Officer at 520.705.3574. Local media should contact the ADOT Public Information Office at 1.800.949.8057. Visit us on facebook or our web site for more information about ADOT. For more information about ADOT projects and programs across Arizona see the agency's latest blog posts.

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For additional information contact:
ADOT Media Relations (news@azdot.gov)
or call 800.949.8057

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