PHOENIX – When commercial truckers purchase their permits for driving through Arizona online ahead of time or use a cashless method at the port of entry, they spend less time making payments and get on their way faster. 

That’s one reason the Arizona Department of Transportation successfully implemented a pilot program to move to a fully-cashless permitting system. Now, after working with trucking companies that pay with cash to ensure they have enough time to convert to a cashless system, ADOT’s ports of entry intend to go fully cashless on Jan. 1, 2021. 

The move to end the acceptance of cash and checks at ports of entry also supports recommendations by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention to curb the spread of COVID-19 through the exchange of currency.

ADOT’s truck permitting systems, ePro and Transport, have cashless features and nearly 80% of truckers getting permits use those features. But in order to help trucks move through the ports more efficiently, ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division began to encourage the other 20% of truckers to pay for permits online using Apple Pay, Android Pay or credit card.

“We have been getting a feel from the trucking industry on how much they would support this change and the feedback has been positive,” said Lt. Jason Sloan, team lead for implementing the change. “This improvement will help eliminate waste and maximize resources available at ports of entry to process commercial traffic faster.”

The move also allows more officers to be available for enforcement duties instead of having one or more of them make a long drive from a remote port of entry to a financial institution to deposit the cash and checks collected.

This change is one more way ADOT’s continuous improvement process is making more efficient use of time, resources and taxpayer dollars. It will also be implemented at VIN inspection stations around the state.

ADOT is also developing a new commercial permitting system that will support the move to cashless and touchless that is expected to be operational by the end of next year.

PHOENIX – When a crash damages the state highway system, the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Insurance Recovery Unit makes sure taxpayers don’t get stuck with the bill unnecessarily.

This operation recovered more than $5 million during the fiscal year that ended June 30, accounting for 98% of crash-related maintenance costs. In all, the Insurance Recovery Unit processed 2,701 claims during fiscal 2020, the most it’s ever handled in a year.

The Insurance Recovery Unit, comprised of professionals with insurance industry backgrounds, reaches out to the responsible parties and their insurance carriers to recover repair costs. The money received goes into the State Highway Fund.

Since its inception in 2012, the unit has recovered around $45 million for damage to the state highway system.

Thanks to process improvements developed using the Arizona Management System championed by Governor Doug Ducey, the Insurance Recovery Unit has dramatically increased the speed with which it resolves claims. Since fiscal 2015, when the unit processed 1,152 claims, its total has increased each year.

The Insurance Recovery Unit reorganized operations to have separate teams tasked with researching responsible parties, sending requests and negotiating the final amounts recovered. Before that, each adjuster in the unit handled all aspects of a claim.

“Another improvement that’s paying big dividends is going totally paperless, which saves time and money,” said Jim Cupp, who leads the Insurance Recovery Unit. “We get our demands out faster and thus are able to handle more claims.”

The recovery process begins when law enforcement responds to an incident in which guardrail, a bridge or some other component of the highway system has been damaged. The officer will mark the damaged item with a sticker that has the incident report number on it. When ADOT is notified of the damage and makes the repair, a member of the Insurance Recovery Unit will contact the responsible party or their insurer to file a claim.

To learn more about how the Arizona Management System helps ADOT deliver value every day for Arizonans, please visit azdot.gov/AMS.

PHOENIX – Governor Doug Ducey has honored Arizona Highways and Arizona State Parks and Trails with his Good Government Award for a collaboration that includes a one-year subscription to the magazine when someone purchases an annual parks pass.

The award celebrates innovations stemming from the Arizona Management System, which empowers all state employees to continually improve processes and value to customers.

Arizona Highways, published by the Arizona Department of Transportation, has added 12,500 subscribers since the promotion launched in July 2018, while the magazine promotes standard and premium annual passes available from Arizona State Parks and Trails. Additionally, Arizona State Parks and Trails has seen a nearly 11% increase in pass sales and promotes Arizona Highways magazine on its website, via social media channels, in parks and on vehicles throughout the state.

The partnership has helped both the magazine and Arizona State Parks and Trails better promote travel and tourism around Arizona.

“Governor Ducey has set a goal of making Arizona the No. 1 place to visit and recreate,” said Kelly Mero, publisher of Arizona Highways. “This innovative partnership developed using tools from the Arizona Management System has helped increase awareness of our state’s hidden gems and encourage visitors and residents alike to get out and explore Arizona.”

Using structured problem-solving under the Arizona Management System championed by Governor Ducey, representatives of Arizona Highways and Arizona State Parks and Trails identified needs and goals as well as responsibilities and roles. One key to this effective collaboration was Arizona Highways developing a strong understanding of Arizona State Parks and Trails’ membership model and customers.

“This partnership showcases what two agencies can do when they work together toward a common goal,” said Bob Broscheid, executive director of Arizona State Parks and Trails. “Combining the 35 state parks with the gorgeous photography and amazing storytelling found in Arizona Highways Magazine is a natural fit and a great collaboration.”

For more information on annual passes available from Arizona State Parks and Trails, or on any of the 35 state parks, please visit azstateparks.com.

Arizona Highways, known internationally for showcasing state’s landscapes, wildlife and history through stunning photography and compelling stories, has subscribers in all 50 states and more than 100 countries. It also publishes a variety of books and calendars. To learn more or to subscribe, please visit ArizonaHighways.com.

To learn more about how the Arizona Management System helps ADOT deliver value every day for Arizonans, please visit azdot.gov/AMS.

PHOENIX – An Arizona Department of Transportation project replacing the Interstate 40 bridge at Meteor City Road is using innovative techniques that get the work done faster, limit inconvenience for motorists and reduce long-term maintenance costs.

This work, which began in mid-July, is creating abutments by putting in alternating layers of granular fill reinforced with synthetic material. It’s ADOT’s first use of this technique, known as a geosynthetic reinforced soil-integrated bridge system, to rebuild an overpass.

The approach makes it possible for a bridge replacement that ordinarily would take about six months to wrap up this fall.

Bridges constructed using this method have lower maintenance costs over their life spans and also fit more seamlessly into the roadway approaches, creating a smoother transition from road to bridge.

In addition, the project is constructing a new bridge deck using a polyester polymer concrete that can be placed and cured in a matter of days rather than weeks. This new type of deck provides similar performance with lower maintenance costs compared to a traditional concrete bridge deck.

This method of constructing bridge decks is not only a first for ADOT but for the state.

In addition to replacing the bridge, crews will also reconstruct the roadway approach to the bridge.

The current detour that takes I-40 traffic onto the Meteor City Road off- and on-ramps to move through the work zone will last through mid-August.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule. To stay up to date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov or call 511.

PHOENIX – Water at Arizona Department of Transportation rest areas, most of them located in remote desert locations and relying on their own wells, is like water to Arizona overall: There’s only so much of it, a great deal of effort is required to get it where it needs to be and it pays to conserve what you have.

At the Interstate 17 Sunset Point Rest Area, where a million people stop each year, the water comes from a well that’s 1,800 feet deep. Along Interstate 10 in southeastern Arizona, Texas Canyon Rest Area relies on a 5-mile pipeline carrying well water to facilities serving around 800,000 visitors annually. In fact, only two of ADOT’s rest areas are located where water is available through a utility.

That’s part of the reason why ADOT has made changes in recent years that today save 40,000 gallons of water every day across its 28 rest area sites.

Some of these improvements are obvious to visitors, such as lower-flow sinks with metered faucets, waterless urinals and upgraded toilets that use far less water per flush. Others are more subtle, such as ADOT’s decision to switch soap dispensers from liquid to foam, which requires less water to rinse. Still more happen out of public view, such as rest area resident caretakers starting each day by emailing photographs of water meter readings so managers can look for spikes that indicate leaks.

Answering Governor Doug Ducey’s call for a culture of conservation that helps secure Arizona’s water future, ADOT is encouraging employees to identify ways the agency can be part of the solution. With that in mind, ADOT recently held a contest to celebrate successes in conserving water, with rest areas winning top honors.

The impetus came from ADOT Director John Halikowski, who had noticed that palm trees and bushes were being over-watered outside ADOT’s administrative building in Phoenix while a few blocks away state lawmakers were discussing the Drought Contingency Plan.

“We all need to look for ways large and small to conserve water, and that includes those of us at ADOT,” Halikowski said. “While our contest turned up great examples of conservation, each of us can do more.”

Another honoree was the ADOT-operated Grand Canyon National Park Airport, where staff members make monthly checks of water meters at every building. If use goes up, they check for and repair leaking toilets, leaks in water lines and any other problems that waste water. The airport also includes shutting off the water in check-out requirements for staff members who live in on-site housing.

As with rest areas, location is one of the reasons why conservation is essential for the airport. Under its agreement with the community of Tusayan, Grand Canyon National Park Airport can only fill its water tanks once in the spring and once in the fall, so each supply has to last.

Other contest entries included installing a thermostat that halved water use by the Deck Park Tunnel’s cooling system and even pointing out a leaky faucet in an employee bathroom.

Improvements that have reduced water use at rest areas also have been incorporated at ADOT’s commercial ports of entry and at maintenance facilities, many of them also located in remote areas.  

At rest areas, the goal is taking one good idea and making it consistent statewide, according to Bobby Wheeler, ADOT’s rest area manager.

Case in point: Each rest area now has a valve-exercise program in which valves that are part of water systems are regularly inspected and operated to reduce the chances of a failure. That change required mapping and numbering valves.

Improvements at rest areas have resulted in water flow dropping by about a third at each facility. That means the equipment required to move and treat water has to run less frequently, cutting power use by about 25 percent. Meanwhile, reduced wastewater means less pressure on septic systems.

“We’re always looking for new ways to conserve water,” Wheeler said. “Our systems are evolving, and we’re staying open-minded when it means saving power and water.”

ADOT encourages members of the public to report any water waste they see on ADOT projects, at ADOT facilities and along state highways. Doing that is as simple as visiting azdot.gov/Contact and filling out a convenient online form or calling the phone number for General Non-Motor Vehicle Inquiries.

For more information on ADOT, please visit azdot.gov.

PHOENIX – An innovative truck safety training program is continuing to make Arizona roads safer 18 months after Arizona Department of Transportation enforcement officers began taking their important messages to Mexican truck drivers south of the border.

More than 11,000 times in the past 18 months, Mexican truck drivers who have completed ADOT’s rigorous, two-day International Border Inspection Qualification have used the agency’s commercial ports of entry in Nogales, San Luis and Douglas. These qualified drivers have been stopped for significant safety violations just 31 times, or once in every 355 crossings.

ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division launched the program, the first by any state department of transportation to provide safety inspection training in Mexico, with a goal of making Arizona roads safer while supporting the flow of commerce. The state-certified law enforcement officers who staff ADOT’s commercial ports of entry along the international border teach drivers and mechanics from Mexico about the safety requirements for driving commercial trucks in Arizona.

The program has been a tremendous success by any measure, including the 576 drivers who have received the qualification, said Tim Lane, director of ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division.

“The improved safety record of drivers who have completed the training shows that our training program is very effective, and that the drivers attending our sessions are taking the process very seriously,” Lane said. “We are making a positive impact on safety on Arizona roads.”

There have been 25 two-day training sessions, and nine more sessions are scheduled over the next seven months. In addition, ADOT officers will offer seven requalification classes – one-day refresher programs for drivers who have completed the International Border Inspection Qualification.

Another innovation allows qualified drivers to communicate with ADOT officers before approaching the border using WhatsApp, a smartphone application. Drivers have used the app 233 times so far, with about 80 percent of those contacts revealing safety violations. Allowing truckers to perform repairs before approaching the border saves companies time and money.