Traffic shift implemented on I-17 south of Flagstaff for wildlife overpass project

PHOENIX – Motorists should expect delays on Interstate 17 in northern Arizona in the coming weeks as crews make progress on a new wildlife overpass.

The Arizona Department of Transportation on Thursday shifted all traffic to the southbound side of I-17 near Willard Springs Road, about 12 miles south of Flagstaff.

The shift reduces traffic to one lane in each direction north of the Munds Park area but allows construction to go on without a full freeway closure, ADOT said.

Crews will install steel girders and perform other work above northbound I-17 over the next two weeks or so.

Afterward, traffic will be shifted to the northbound lanes for similar work above southbound I-17.

Why is wildlife overpass needed on I-17 south of Flagstaff

The 8-mile stretch of land where the overpass is being built has no bridges and only one road culvert that elk, deer and other animals can use to cross I-17. The area accounted for 58% of crashes involving wildlife from Stoneman Lake Road to Flagstaff between 2018 and 2022, according to ADOT.

Work on the 100-foot-wide wildlife overpass started in April is scheduled for completion by fall 2026.

ADOT is partnering with the Arizona Game and Fish Department on the $15.8 million project, which received grant funding from the Federal Highway Administration’s Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program.

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