Arizona highway closed overnight, longer closure planned

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Pinto Creek Bridge (file) (Arizona Department of Transportation)

SUPERIOR, Ariz. - A scheduled overnight closure of a 17.5-mile stretch of U.S. Route 60 in east-central Arizona this week for bridge work will give drivers a preview of a much longer closure planned for September.

The highway will be closed from 8 p.m. on July 28 to 4 a.m. Thursday as crews pour part of the concrete deck on the new Pinto Creek Bridge, the Arizona Department of Transportation said.

The department said the next major step in the project will require a five-day closure in September. The dates have not yet been scheduled.

Next month’s closure will take place as the roadway alignment is shifted from the old bridge to the new bridge, the department said.

Transportation officials said the closures involve detouring traffic on State Route 177 in Superior and State Route 77 in Globe. The detour includes a 10% grade and will "significantly increase travel time," officials said.