Arizona’s dust detection system ready for monsoon season

PHOENIX — A multi-million dollar system on Arizona roads is ready to roll when dust storms take over the desert. There are 13 dust detectors in the state. The Arizona Department of Transportation said they’re maintained ahead of monsoon and are ready to alert drivers when conditions become hazardous. 

The system has been running since 2020. That’s when the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Garin Groff said $6.5 million was pumped into the pilot program. It is fully automated.

“So it can operate and activate itself 24 hours a day when blowing dust does limit visibility on I-10,” Groff said. 

He also added that the detectors are infrared devices. When they track dust, speed limits are automatically reduced.

“On variable speed limit signs on I-10, the speed limit will drop from the normal 75 miles per hour to as low as 35 miles per hour, depending on conditions,” Groff said. 

Message boards are activated and warn drivers to slow down, because it’s difficult to see past the dust. Groff said ADOT keeps the system operating at 100 percent.

“ADOT performs maintenance on the dust detection system to make sure that everything is clean and can detect blowing dust,” he said. 

The program has been a success, according to Groff. And as of now, there are no plans to expand it in Arizona. 

“This is a pilot program to see if it works,” Groff said. “It does as of now, we don’t have any other plans right now.”

Groff said the detectors are focused on a 10-mile stretch of I-10 near Eloy, where they’re located. 

“There’s been a concentration of blowing dust events over the years and a concentration of crashes,” he said. 

Another component of the dust detection and warning system is weather radar. ADOT said the National Weather Service informed them there’s a delay of about 10 minutes in getting that information, and they’re working on fixing that issue.

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