US 60

Throwback Thursday: The very model of a modern major freeway

Throwback Thursday: The very model of a modern major freeway

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Throwback Thursday: The very model of a modern major freeway

Throwback Thursday: The very model of a modern major freeway

By John LaBarbera / ADOT Communications
March 24, 2022

Today we throwback to the late 1960s when Johnny Carson was king and Phoenix had a population of about 800,000. 

Despite the fact that fair city was bubbling under one million people, the Valley was already expanding and the Arizona Highway Department (ADOT wasn't created until the mid-’70s) was looking toward the future.

Here we see a model of the Superstition Freeway, also known as US 60. Back then, it was touted as State Route 360. This particular model appears to show a transition with another freeway. Eagle-eyed observers may posit that this could be the future Loop 101 Price Freeway.

Models like this are typically taken to public meetings so citizens can visualize what a future freeway may look like once it's come to its full realization.

A lot of work goes into creating these models. Notice not only the placement of hundreds of tiny trees, but models of structures and homes, as well as cars and trucks positioned as though they are traveling along this pocket-sized parkway.

Named for the famed mountain range to its east, the Superstition Freeway extends 30 miles from the I-10 interchange in Tempe all the way to Gold Canyon. But it’s just a small snippet of US 60 in Arizona, which runs 369 miles, from Quartzsite in western Arizona to the New Mexico state line.

ADOT project will improve safety from Salt River Canyon to Show Low

ADOT project will improve safety from Salt River Canyon to Show Low

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT project will improve safety from Salt River Canyon to Show Low

ADOT project will improve safety from Salt River Canyon to Show Low

November 8, 2021

ADOT has started a new project along US 60 west of Show Low to create a space for those vehicles to safely stop and recover.

SHOW LOW – Did you know that about 60% of all roadway fatalities in Arizona are the result of vehicles leaving the road? That’s why the Arizona Department of Transportation has started a new project along US 60 west of Show Low to create a space for those vehicles to safely stop and recover.

On US 60 west of Show Low, there have been 11 fatal and 34 serious injury crashes over the last 10 years between mileposts 292 and 340. Many of these crashes involved leaving the roadway.

ADOT, in its commitment to driver safety, is creating “clear zones” on either side of US 60 that are clear of obstructions like trees. This zone allows a driver time and space to stop or regain control of the vehicle after leaving the roadway. 

Starting today, crews will remove vegetation and trees within 30 feet of the edge of the highway in most locations and 5 feet behind guardrail-protected locations. All of this work will take place within ADOT’s right-of-way.

The work will occur during daytime hours, Mondays through Fridays. No work is planned during weekends or holidays. One lane of traffic will remain open at all times on US 60, and existing turn lanes will also stay open. Barricades or other traffic-control devices will be removed after crews finish working each day. The project is anticipated to be completed early next year.

Additional benefits of this project is that drivers will have more time to react to any wildlife emerging from the forest and heading toward the highway as well as reducing ice-related incidents in the winter months caused by shading of the roadway.

Trees removed from the clear zone will be reused by local government entities including providing firewood for eligible members of the White Mountain Apache Tribe. 

For more information on the safety project, please visit azdot.gov/adot-news/adot-project-will-improve-safety-salt-river-canyon-show-low.

US 60 reopens between Superior, Miami

US 60 reopens between Superior, Miami

I-17 101 traffic interchange

US 60 reopens between Superior, Miami

US 60 reopens between Superior, Miami

October 27, 2021

 

US 60 has reopened to traffic between Superior and Miami after this morning's full closure.

ADOT and the project team would like to thank the public for their patience during the unexpected delay to remove a section of the old Pinto Creek Bridge.

No additional full closures are anticipated for the Pinto Creek project. However, motorists will encounter minor intermittent delays through autumn as crews haul material and debris out of the project site.

Motorists should proceed with caution, slow down, watch for equipment, and follow the directions of flaggers and law enforcement.

More information about the project is available at azdot.gov/PintoCreekBridge.

Full closure of US 60 between Superior, Miami schedule for Oct. 25

Full closure of US 60 between Superior, Miami schedule for Oct. 25

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Full closure of US 60 between Superior, Miami schedule for Oct. 25

Full closure of US 60 between Superior, Miami schedule for Oct. 25

October 20, 2021

GLOBE  – US 60 will close between Superior and Miami between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25, while crews continue work to remove the old Pinto Creek Bridge.

During the closure, US 60 traffic will be detoured to SR 177 in Superior and SR 77 in Globe. The detour includes a 10% grade and will significantly increase travel time. Traffic will not be allowed to queue at the closure locations.

Motorists on US 60 with a destination between SR 177 and Top-of-the-World west of Pinto Creek or between Miami and Pinto Valley Mine Road east of Pinto Creek will be allowed to pass. However, no vehicles will be allowed between Top-of-the-World and Pinto Valley Mine Road.

Traffic shifted to the newly constructed bridge over Pinto Creek on Sept. 17. The old bridge, opened in 1949 with an estimated lifespan of 50 years, remained safe for traffic but had reached the end of its useful life.

Drivers should expect periodic lane restrictions and delays in the area through the rest of 2021 as crews continue to remove the bridge and restore the project site to its natural state.

For more information, please visit azdot.gov/PintoCreekBridge.

Salome founded by larger-than-life character

Salome founded by larger-than-life character

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Salome founded by larger-than-life character

Salome founded by larger-than-life character

By Laurie Merrill / ADOT Communications
October 6, 2021

In Arizona, it seems like a never-ending trail of legendary, larger-than-life figures added their own brand of mischief and mayhem to the state's colorful past.

One of these was Iowa-born Dick Wick Hall, who moved to our state in 1898 to live with the Hopi in northeastern Arizona and learn their snake dance.

You can read a bit about this character on an historical marker in Salome on US 60 some 60 miles west of Wickenburg.

It says:

“Salome, where she danced. This desert town was made famous by the humor of Dick Wick Hall, health seeker and operator of the Laughing Gas Station."

“Hall’s publication, the Salome Sun, was filled with extravagant tales of the desert’s adaptation of a species. He told of a frog that was seven years old and never learned how to swim.”

If you want to know more about this character, there’s probably no better source than the McMullen Valley Chamber of Commerce, which has an entire website page dedicated to him and his place of importance in what the website calls “the heart of Arizona’s Outback.”

For starters, Dick Wick Hall, born Richard Deforest Hall, changed his name after falling in love with Wickenburg.

Miner, prospector, speculator, newspaper publisher, humorist and businessman, Hall became one of Salome’s founders in 1904.

He and fellow founder Charles Pratt called the area “Happy Valley” before settling on a name. It was during this time that Pratt’s wife, Salome Pratt, attempted to walk on the hot desert sand in her bare foot and wound up “dancing” to her destination.

“There and then Dick Wick Hall named the town 'Salome, where she danced, Arizona.’ The founder of Salome is honored with both a historical marker on Highway 60 and Center Street, and the historical gravesite near the site of his old office and home, located at the intersection of Center and Hall Streets,” the website says.

In addition to his newspaper, he opened the Laughing Gas Station, where he covered the walls with signs making fun of Arizona’s weather. Among these were one proclaiming “Free hot air” and another saying, “Smile, smile, smile. You don’t have to stay here but we do.”

Credited with being Arizona’s most famous humorist, Hall’s widely popular syndicated column was published in 28 newspapers from New York to California.

And of course, there was Hall’s famous “Salome Frog,” who never learned to swim because Salome was so hot, dusty and dry. Hall wrote a poem about his swim-less amphibian, which concludes: “I’m an Old Bull Frog, dang my hide, I can’t swim because I never tried.”

In one highway closure, ADOT completes multiple projects

In one highway closure, ADOT completes multiple projects

I-17 101 traffic interchange

In one highway closure, ADOT completes multiple projects

In one highway closure, ADOT completes multiple projects

September 22, 2021

US 60 update

 

GLOBE – While motorists who routinely travel between Superior and the Globe-Miami area may not know what’s involved with maintaining and repairing the only highway between the communities, they’ve come to know even small projects can mean big travel delays.

So when the Arizona Department of Transportation planned the most disruptive local project in recent memory - a five-day closure of US 60 for a bridge replacement project - work crews planned ahead to take advantage of a nearly traffic-free road.

From the time the highway closed late Sept. 12 to when it reopened midday Sept. 17, ADOT maintenance crews based in Superior and Globe spread out across the roughly 15-mile closure to take on multiple maintenance and repair projects at the same time.

Nearly all the work along this two-lane highway, which cuts through rugged terrain and lacks shoulders in many areas, would have required lane restrictions and delays for the safety of work crews and the public. With the public off the roadway, crews could perform all kinds of work more quickly and more safely than when sharing the road with traffic.

Best of all, the work means ADOT - and drivers - will avoid multiple future projects that would require disruptive restrictions or even closures.

ADOT crews performed work on and off the highway over five days. The most visible improvement was a chip seal project that started at Top-of-the-World and extended 4 miles to the east.

Other work included:

  • Repairing damage from this summer’s Telegraph Fire, which burned along miles of US 60
  • Removing rocks at risk of falling onto the highway
  • Trimming and removing vegetation that was blocking sight lines, uprooting rocks or at risk of falling on the road
  • Cleaning drainage systems to prevent flood damage
  • Installing conduit in the Queen Creek Tunnel for a future fiber optic cable project

ADOT coordinated the work with Ames Construction, which required the highway closure as the contractor on the $22.7 million Pinto Creek Bridge replacement project. ADOT crews needed to ensure Ames had constant use of US 60 to access the project site, where crews realigned US 60 to the newly completed bridge at Pinto Creek.

While traffic began using the new bridge Sept. 17, the project will extend through 2021 as crews remove the old structure and restore the project site to its natural state. More information about the project is available at azdot.gov/PintoCreekBridge.


 

US 60 reopens between Superior, Miami

US 60 reopens between Superior, Miami

I-17 101 traffic interchange

US 60 reopens between Superior, Miami

US 60 reopens between Superior, Miami

August 12, 2021

PHOENIX – US 60 has reopened between Superior and Miami after maintenance crews with the Arizona Department of Transportation repaired extensive flood damage that forced the highway to close early Wednesday.

ADOT crews worked around the clock to make repairs, hauling in about 169 truckloads of rock to shore up the roadway. More than 2,000 cubic yards of boulders were placed along the roadway where it abuts the Bloody Tanks Wash west of Miami. Also, crews have removed damaged guardrail and cleared debris from drainage systems to reduce the risk of future flood damage.

More than 60 people worked to make repairs, including about 30 ADOT employees and 20 Ames Contracting employees who have been working on the nearby Pinto Creek Bridge replacement project. The Pinto Valley Mine also assisted ADOT by supplying boulders.

While both lanes of the highway are now open, ADOT encourages drivers to use extra caution on US 60 between Superior and Miami because of the potential for future flooding due to an adjacent burn scar. ADOT also recommends avoiding travel when storms are passing through the area as well as at nighttime.

Motorists should plan for periodic lane restrictions and delays of 30 to 60 minutes in the coming weeks and months as ADOT makes longer-term repairs, including work on guardrail, pavement and drainage systems. When restrictions are in place, drivers should consider using State Routes 77 and 177 through Winkelman, a roughly 70-mile detour that includes a 10 percent grade and will significantly increase travel time. Also, drivers can use SR 87 and SR 188 as alternate routes.

The closure is a reminder that many factors can trigger unplanned closures, including rainfall from storms. Drivers should get road conditions at AZ511.gov before traveling, or by checking with ADOT on Twitter, Facebook or the ADOT Alerts app.

Pinto Creek Bridge opens a new chapter in Arizona history

Pinto Creek Bridge opens a new chapter in Arizona history

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Pinto Creek Bridge opens a new chapter in Arizona history

Pinto Creek Bridge opens a new chapter in Arizona history

By Kim Larsen / ADOT Communications
August 12, 2021

American engineer and educator James Kip Finch said “The engineer has been, and is, a maker of history.”

That can definitely be said of the engineers and team members working on the Pinto Creek Bridge project as they are creating a replacement for a 72-year-old bridge, located on US 60 about six miles west of Miami, to keep a southern Arizona community moving.

When the project began in 2012, many factors came into play, including addressing historic preservation with the Federal Highway Administration and bridge aesthetics with the U.S. Forest Service. Another consideration was environmental impact, which led to the mitigation and conservation of the Arizona Hedgehog Cactus in the canyon.

An interesting development was the discovery of a mine adit, which is basically a prospector’s tunnel, a consideration during the original construction in the 1940s. The team did 3D modeling of the foundation excavation limits to determine the type of foundation that would reduce any risk due to the mine adit.

ADOT used value engineering to develop improvements to the construction feasibility review and efficiency of the bridge, saving about $1.5 million.

“Adjustments were made to the foundations and column reinforcing for efficiency and constructibility,” Bridge Designer Rafe Davis explained. “A bid alternate was developed in the plans and specifications which provided the contractor flexibility.”

The bridge is now about 73% complete. The girder lift took place in April, but it was an involved process

“The girders took more than three months to fabricate, not including the time for required submittals and to prepare the structural steel shop drawings,” Project Supervisor Kim Vanvolkinburg said. “Once girder delivery to the project began, it took them about six weeks to set and splice all the girders and cross frames. The contractor brought in multiple cranes, and had to move them several times due to the logistics of working adjacent to the existing highway and within the canyon below.”

The projected completion date is January 2022.

“This will likely adjust some as there is a lot of work yet to be completed,” Vanvolkinburg said. “Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.”

Read more about the bridge project and progress in the ADOT Blog. Discover photos of the project and the girder lift on Flickr

Flooding closes US 60 between Superior, Miami

Flooding closes US 60 between Superior, Miami

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Flooding closes US 60 between Superior, Miami

Flooding closes US 60 between Superior, Miami

August 11, 2021

PHOENIX – Drivers should plan for an extended closure of US 60 between Superior and Miami as the Arizona Department of Transportation works to repair flood damage along the highway.

The closure is between mileposts 226 at State Route 177 in Superior and milepost 243 at the west side of Miami, with motorists detoured onto SR 77 and SR 177 through Winkelman. The roughly 70-mile detour includes a 10 percent grade and will significantly increase travel time.

ADOT maintenance crews are planning 24-hour operations to repair the roadway at the Bloody Tanks Wash, which is about one mile west of the closure in Miami. The repair will require an estimated 300 truckloads of boulders to shore up the highway so it can safely reopen to traffic.

The closure is a reminder that many factors can trigger unplanned closures, including rainfall from storms. Drivers should get road conditions at AZ511.gov before traveling, or by checking with ADOT on Twitter, Facebook or the ADOT Alerts app.

Innovation paving the way near Show Low - literally

Innovation paving the way near Show Low - literally

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Innovation paving the way near Show Low - literally

Innovation paving the way near Show Low - literally

By David Rookhuyzen / ADOT Communications
June 15, 2021

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus, who died in roughly 475 B.C.E., is said to have been the originator of the phrase "the only constant in life is change."

And while that thought seems fine for philosophy books, what does it have to do with transportation? 

Well, it turns out that you can find change and new approaches in even a common task like paving a road.

Let's take ADOT's project on US 60 and State Route 260 at Show Low, for example. The work, which kicked off on June 1, will remove and replace a total of 11 miles along US 60 and SR 260 near Show Low, in addition to curb and gutter, sidewalk and guardrail work. 

So what's so innovative about that? Because, for this project, ADOT is using a relatively new type of pavement that will improve the road life. In layman's terms, the paving is more dense than what has been used in the past, achieved through greater compaction and a reduction in small air bubbles found in the mixture. This in turn makes it more durable and resistant to things such as rutting, cracking and moisture intrusion. 

Bottom line: That could expand the life of the driving surface by years. 

And if you need another reason to get excited about this, we have you covered. Because ADOT is using this new type of paving, it successfully applied for federal innovation funding. With those new dollars, the federal share of the $16 million project went up 5 percent to 99.3 percent. That means roughly an extra $800,000 is being covered by federal funds.

This isn't the first time ADOT has used this new type of paving, and there are more projects scheduled to utilize it moving forward. 

While we're pretty sure Heraclitus wasn't thinking specifically about paving a road when he talked about change, but improvements like what's happening near Show Low still help prove the 2,500-year old thinker right.