PHOENIX — The Valley's busiest highways and interchanges are under the microscope, specifically along I-10 from the downtown Phoenix tunnel to the I-17 split.
The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) is asking for your opinion on potential changes, and they've scheduled a big meeting for 5 p.m. on October 10 at the Burton Barr Library.
Bradlee Williams led the study for the Maricopa Association of Governments. He says over 200,000 drivers use I-10 each day in the Valley, and just in the study area alone, there are over five crashes a day.
“We realized the most important thing to do was to improve safety," Williams said.
He says multiple on- and off-ramps creating major speed variances are partly to blame for the high crash totals.
“There are places where you’re in an exit lane, you’re going five miles an hour. And the lane going next to you is going 60 miles an hour," Williams said.
One proposed change is to create a parallel road for weaving on- and off-ramps, which is called a collector-distributor.
The proposed CD road is similar to what’s at the Broadway Curve, separating drivers exiting locally from ones staying on the I-10 for longer drives.
“It takes traffic off the main line and puts it on a separate road, where we can design specifically for the weave," Williams said.
Over a dozen safety recommendations will be talked through at the meeting where the public is encouraged to give their thoughts and opinions, and MAG is bringing interactive models to view.
"We have a lot of maps rolled out on tables," Tim Strow said. "We're going to ask them to make markings on the maps and comments to tell us what they think of the improvements.”
If you can't make the meeting in person, it will be posted in full online and you have until November 8 to make your public comments. You can find that page here.