The project includes long-range radar set near
Picacho Peak that can detect approaching dust
storms from 50 miles (80 kilometers) away.
Short-range radar will be used to detect dust
particles every mile between areas where most
dust-related I-10 crashes occur.
Also planned are electronic billboards to
display warning messages readable in both
traffic directions and variable speed limit signs
where speed can drop as low as 35 mph based
on reduced visibility.
“The dust comes upon you very quickly and
you go from seeing half a mile in front of
you to barely seeing a car in front of you,”
Hermann said.
More advanced warning of dust conditions can
reduce the likelihood of a crash and if a crash
does happen, the impact can be less severe if
drivers are going 35 mph rather than 75 mph,
Hermann said.
The department recorded 85 dust-related
crashes along the busy freeway from Phoenix
to Tucson from 2010 to 2015.
According to a 2016 report by the National
Weather Service and the University of Arizona,
dust is the third-leading cause of weather-
related deaths behind extreme temperatures
and flash floods.
Dust storms are common during Arizona’s mid-
June to end-of-September monsoon season.