Last week when we told you about National Preparedness Month, we briefly detailed the role ADOT plays when it comes to public safety. But, there’s a whole lot more to say on the subject, and who better to write about it than ADOT’s very own Emergency Manager…

Over the past several years, ADOT has worked to transform the highly traveled US 93 between Wickenburg to the Hoover Dam from a two-lane highway to an environmentally friendly four-lane, divided highway. A project of this scale will always present its share of issues, but widening the final section – from Kingman to the Mike O’Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge – provided ADOT with an especially unique challenge …

The recent quake near Washington, D.C. served as a reminder that the earth occasionally moves in U.S. locales outside of California. At ADOT, we know that Arizona is not immune to seismic activity, either.

When the editorial team at Roads & Bridges makes choices for the magazine’s annual Top 10 Roads list, many factors are considered. But, according to Editorial Director Bill Wilson, it’s the challenges faced in building each nominated road and the project’s impact that get the closest looks. Maybe that’s why the Loop 303 (Happy Valley Road to Lake Pleasant Parkway) made it to this year’s top 10!

ADOT's new Crash Facts report shows the number of fatal crashes was on the decline in 2010.

It’s been just about six months, but today the residents of Mescal and J-Six Ranch got their bridge back and can finally say goodbye to one lengthy detour!

Did you realize that more than 111,000 people in the U.S. are in need of a life-saving organ transplant? In Arizona alone, 2,100 people are waiting ... That’s why the Donor Network of Arizona is so important. As the state’s only organ recovery organization, this not-for-profit group is a much-needed resource.

All the innovation and care that went into the US 60 Gonzales Pass project has really paid off. Not only did the 10-mile stretch west of Superior transform from two lanes into a safer, more modern four-lane highway, but the project has just been awarded the President’s Award in Valley Forward’s 31st annual Environmental Excellence Awards program.

A new school year is in full swing and now is the time for Arizona educators to take advantage of the $5 million in grants available from Safe Routes to School!

When it comes to preventing sediment from being washed out of construction sites and into adjacent water sources, there’s a low-tech solution that proves very useful. It’s called a wattle.... A what?

Smooth takeoffs and easy landings require airport runways that are maintained and cared for … because no pilot (or passenger) wants to hit a pothole on the taxiway. But, keeping an airport’s pavement in good condition takes some vigilance – extreme temperatures, wear from heavy loads and age can all take their toll on pavement. Smaller, publicly owned airports in the state might not have the budget, or the manpower, to handle needed repairs.

When ADOT builds a road, the work gets started years (sometimes decades) ahead of any real construction … It all begins with the planning phase, which includes everything from determining where a new roadway is most needed to taking a look at available funding.

When ADOT has a freeway to build, many steps must be taken long before any asphalt is paved. One of those initial tasks involves pre-wetting the soil, which entails pretty much exactly what you think it does … crews put sprinkler systems into place and water the dirt!

As ADOT employees, we naturally get a lot of transportation-related questions thrown our way by friends and family... it’s just something that comes with the job! But, another question we regularly get focuses on the rock landscaping surrounding our Valley freeways. People want to know why we don’t just use trees and shrubs instead of rock. Others wonder why we landscape the area at all.

What are your thoughts on the possibility of a new transportation connection between Phoenix and Tucson? If you travel between these two major metropolitan areas, the Arizona Department of Transportation wants to hear from you!

Several miles of new HOV lanes opened earlier this week in Chandler and the West Valley … just in time for the Monday morning commute!

Construction got started earlier this fall on a project that’s designed to bring some big improvements for a stretch of Interstate-10 in the Tucson area. The I-10 widening project from Ruthrauff Road to Prince Road will not only expand the freeway to four lanes in each direction, but will also reconstruct the Prince Road traffic interchange so the road will pass over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and I-10. New landscaping and entrance and exit ramp improvements are also part of the plan.

Earlier we told you about the new intercity rail study that’s going to help ADOT examine the possibility of a new transportation link between Phoenix and Tucson. (By the way, there’s still plenty of time to comment and we hope you will!) But, today, we really want to focus on why ADOT conducts studies like this one.

They're typically headed to one of the country’s biggest tourist destinations -- the Grand Canyon. One of the main routes to the popular south entrance happens to be State Route 64, which takes motorists right through the middle of Tusayan (pop. 560). The small town gets a lot of pedestrian and vehicle traffic and understandably there have been some concern related to all the activity on SR 64.

You know when you drive under or over a freeway bridge that it’s a massive structure… There are the two abutments (the upright supporting structures at each end that carries the load of the bridge span), there are usually center columns or piers, and, of course, the girders and the bridge deck (the part you actually drive across).