Flagstaff City Hall in Arizona is on the corner of N. Humphreys Street and Route 66. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) announced this week that it has joined the City of Flagstaff in its plan to add turning lanes on North Humphreys Street and Historic Route 66.
ADOT states that $1.9 million in funding from the federal government will add an additional right-turning lane in order to ease congestion at the intersection. North Humphreys is the local name for U.S. 180 that leads to the rest of the city and toward the Grand Canyon.
“When we have partners contributing to these projects — in this case, opportunities for rights of way — it provides the needed value for these projects to be really successful,” ADOT Northcentral District Engineer Audra Merrick said.
Land near Flagstaff City Hall will be used to create the additional turning lane. ADOT notes that this project will not affect Wheeler Park, which is located behind City Hall alongside North Humphreys. This intersection is also located near the downtown area of the city and serves as a major route to businesses in this area.
The announcement states that ADOT will be managing this project because both Route 66 and U.S. 180 are state highways. This project is expected to begin construction in 2019.