PHOENIX — Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona Department of Transportation are safely easing the process for obtaining a Commercial Driver License in an effort to alleviate stress on the transportation system and help address the nationwide supply chain crisis.

The Governor’s Office and Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) also are reopening two long-closed rest stops so commercial drivers have additional opportunities to rest.

"We are working to make sure commercial drivers and Arizona families have the support they need this holiday season," said Governor Ducey. "Prices are rising and commercial drivers are under an incredible amount of stress as they transport goods. Today's action will help alleviate this stress. My thanks to the Arizona Department of Transportation for streamlining requirements for commercial drivers and strengthening Arizona’s supply chain.”

“Arizona’s highways are critical for our economy, and the trucking industry is one of the key transportation modes for moving goods through our state and around the country,” said ADOT Director John Halikowski. “We are pleased to take these steps to make processes easier, while enhancing safety for commercial drivers at this important time of the year.”

Removing Regulatory Burdens

To facilitate more commercial drivers being able to obtain credentials, through Executive Order, the Governor will extend the validity of the commercial learners’ permit (CLP) from six months to one year, in alignment with federal law. This gives a student more time to fulfill training requirements without having to reapply for a new permit. The purpose of the CLP is to allow a student to operate a commercial motor vehicle for training purposes with a licensed driver present.

The Executive Order, in alignment with the current federal waiver, will temporarily allow a commercial driver to keep their CDL past the date that the person’s medical certification is required, until Feb. 28, 2022. CDLs are regulated by the federal government. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) previously initiated a series of waivers, including one that allows a driver to keep their CDL active temporarily after the expiration of a medical certificate. Arizona will adopt this practice temporarily, until Feb. 28, 2022, to keep current CDL holders on the road and alleviate supply chain challenges. CDL holders can upload documents online, as well as verify the status of their Arizona medical certificate, at azmvdnow.gov.

Using recent guidance provided by FMCSA, ADOT will move forward with rulemaking to open commercial driver license services to Authorized Third Party providers. During the 2021 legislative session, HB 2134 was signed into law, allowing ADOT to expand commercial driver license services to its Authorized Third Party providers. As CDLs are regulated primarily by the federal government, ADOT requested and received guidance from FMCSA to determine which actions would be permitted under federal law. Once fully implemented, individuals will have expanded options to receive CDL services from Authorized Third Party providers, providing an increase in convenience and accessibility to obtain a license.

Accessibility To Rest Stops

Last week, the Governor directed ADOT to reopen two previously closed rest areas at Parks (I-40) and Christiansen (I-17). Both are now open to serve the public, providing additional opportunities for drivers to park and rest, and further alleviating stress on the supply chain. This is a temporary measure; these rest areas will be open through Jan. 18, 2022 to provide relief for critical deliveries during the holiday season. 

Going Forward Together

Arizona will launch the Arizona Transportation Consultancy Project, which will strengthen and further enable ADOT to collaborate with other states and adopt similar improvements that Arizona has implemented. Jumpstarting the supply chain is a cross-jurisdictional issue that requires the improvement of processes across multiple states. 

Arizona has undertaken many successful initiatives to make obtaining a CDL and the necessary permits simpler and more accessible to drivers, including the expansion of online services. Currently, ADOT is upgrading the Medical Examiner Certificate (MEC) submission process to allow handwritten MECs to be processed digitally, using advanced technology; expanding CDL services to Authorized Third Party providers; and preparing to modernize its commercial vehicle permitting system.

While these efforts have produced excellent results for Arizona, improvements can’t be confined to Arizona to solve our nation’s supply chain issues. The Arizona Consultancy Project will help other states achieve similar improvements. By sharing best practices and ideas found in the Arizona Management System, providing technical assistance on implementation of programs and sharing state-created intellectual property, processes can be improved across the country.

View the Governor's Executive Order HERE. 

PHOENIX –  In the past two years since the Arizona Department of Transportation started the Incident Response Unit sponsored by State Farm, pickup of litter and dangerous roadway debris has been far faster and more efficient than before. 

The Incident Response Unit, whose job is to patrol Valley freeways to provide vital services including removing litter and debris blocking the road, is working even more efficiently with its own tracking system for calls and time management . The system has provided a clearer picture for the unit to see where improvements can be made in responding to roadway incidents in the Valley.

“Litter is an ugly problem anywhere and objects in the roadway can cause serious and even fatal incidents,” said David Blue, ADOT’s Incident Response Unit manager. “Our job is to respond as rapidly as possible to get the driving surface clear and make sure conditions are safe for everyone.”  

One improvement that has paid dividends was a shift in schedules to have a rotating member of the unit on patrol duty on the weekend to address the dozens of litter calls coming in. The Incident Response Unit sponsored by State Farm normally operates from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday with on-call services nights and weekends. This change keeps drivers safer by removing blocking litter more quickly and freeing up State Troopers to address other incidents on the freeways.

In fact, one-third of the 1600 calls that have come in since mid-August have been for litter blocking the road. The types of litter the IRU responds to range from ladders and load spills to couches and even air conditioning units.

“Having someone on weekend duty helps us achieve our mission of keeping traffic flowing and reducing the chance for crashes,” Blue added. “We’re always looking to improve our processes to better serve motorists in the Valley.”

In addition to litter removal, the IRU provides traffic control at crash scenes and aids stranded motorists. Having a dedicated mobile team has cut response times for incidents to a matter of minutes. Before the IRU, maintenance crews would have to stop their work, return to a yard to pick up vehicles and equipment and then respond to the crash scene.

Learn more about ADOT’s Incident Response Unit sponsored by State Farm at azdot.gov/IRU. 

FLAGSTAFF – The Arizona Department of Transportation’s Fourth Street Bridge replacement project in Flagstaff is receiving national recognition. The project is among a list of 12 in line for national awards from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). 

The innovative bridge project has already won western regional recognition. For the national award, the three highest-scoring projects from each regional competition earn a place on a “Top 12” list of projects competing for the national Grand Prize – selected by an independent panel of industry judges – and the People’s Choice Award, chosen by the public through online voting. In addition, those top national winners each receive $10,000 in cash awards to be donated to a charity or scholarship of the state DOT’s choosing.

"This project has provided improved access to our campus for our students and families. It also has created safe and healthy alternatives for students who want to walk to school or ride their bikes," said David Lykins, superintendent at Northland Preparatory Academy, a charter school located near the southern end of the Fourth Street Bridge.

The new, wider bridge not only benefits the academy helping students get safely to and from school, but also boosts economic development in the area with better traffic flow and more mobility options.

ADOT State Engineer Dallas Hammit explains the innovative bridge-slide method utilized for the project, “We used a slide technique where the new bridge was built just east of the old one. That allowed us to move the new structure into place in about two weeks. This greatly decreased the inconvenience to the traveling public.” 

After the old bridge was demolished, crews used hydraulic jacks to “slide” the new bridge into place. The method cut an estimated two months off of construction time and saved nearly $7 million over traditional bridge construction methods. This reduced the impact to the local community during construction as well as creating a wider bridge that allows vehicles and pedestrians to safely cross. View a time-lapse video of crews moving the new bridge into place at vimeo.com/442491601. 

Online voting for the People’s Choice Award begins Sept. 24. AASHTO will then announce the winners of both the Grand Prize and People’s Choice awards in October at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in San Diego. Members of the public can visit this link to vote for ADOT’s Fourth Street Bridge project and learn more about all the nominees at americastransportationawards.org.

This is the second year in a row ADOT was honored with the Top 12 recognition. Last year, ADOT’s Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway was named to the list.

PHOENIX – With school buses prowling through neighborhoods again as school resumes, drivers should expect to wait when the bus’s stop sign arm is extended while children are boarding and exiting the bus. However, about 13,000 motorists each year are reported by Arizona school bus drivers for not stopping as required.

A new streamlined process is allowing the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division to send warning letters more quickly to owners of vehicles that were reported as not stopping for the school bus stop sign.

Using an online form, bus drivers can send a complaint of a stop sign violator directly to ADOT’s Motor Vehicle Division. MVD then sends a notification letter, which is not a citation, to the vehicle owner as an effort to call attention to the seriousness of running the stop sign, which allows students getting on and off the bus a safe space to cross the street.

Previously, school bus drivers would fax forms to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which then emailed or faxed the reports to MVD.

“Oftentimes, the reports were in batches and difficult to read, and it put DPS in the middle,” said MVD Senior Division Administrator Susan Trask. “We created an online form for the bus drivers to complete, removing DPS completely from the process, and making the submission electronic. This removed the need to fill out a form to fax or email.”

Motorists, who are issued citations by law enforcement officers for passing a school bus when a stop arm is extended, could face a civil penalty and possibly a suspended driver license under state law.

PHOENIX – The installation of improved lighting in the Interstate 10 Deck Park Tunnel north of downtown Phoenix has been completed. Arizona Department of Transportation crews have worked in stages this year to replace old fixtures in the tunnel with modern, energy efficient LED lights.

ADOT installed the last of the new lights in the eastbound side of the Deck Park Tunnel on Saturday morning, June 12. The entire $1.4 million project, which started in January, means that more than 1,500 new LED lights were installed along with the replacement of old lighting fixtures dating back to when the tunnel opened to traffic in 1990.

In addition to the improved lighting providing a safety enhancement, ADOT anticipates the use of LED lights in the tunnel will reduce energy consumption by more than 60 percent and produce more than $175,000 in annual energy savings.

The new LED bulbs produce an improved, brighter white light in the tunnel compared to the outdated yellow-toned high pressure sodium lights that have been replaced. Since LED lights last longer than the high pressure sodium bulbs, crews will not have to replace them as often.

As with the old lighting system, the improved LED tunnel lights are now set at appropriate transitioning levels during daylight and nighttime hours to allow a driver’s vision to adapt given outside lighting levels. For example, the system runs fewer lights at night because of lower nighttime light levels outside the tunnel.

The I-10 tunnel extends approximately three-quarters-of-a-mile between Third Street and Third Avenue north of downtown Phoenix. The lighting project was paid for with available ADOT maintenance funds.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is beginning a project to install larger, more visible wrong way signs along southern Arizona’s three interstate highways as part of an ongoing effort to get the attention of drivers who travel in the wrong direction.

The more visible signs are one of ADOT’s countermeasures to reduce the risk of serious crashes by wrong-way drivers, who are frequently impaired when entering highways in the wrong direction. 

The sign project is part of an ongoing statewide initiative to replace older signs with ones that are easier for drivers to see because they are larger and closer to the ground. The “wrong way” and “do not enter” signs will be posted at freeway exit ramps. 

Crews will begin work to install the southern Arizona signs this week, with the project continuing into early 2022. The project includes new signs along: 

• Interstate 8 in Pinal County (State Route 84 to I-10)
• I-10 in Pinal, Pima and Cochise counties (Sacaton Rest Area to the New Mexico border)
• I-19 in Pima and Santa Cruz counties (Tucson to Nogales)

The project is paid for with federal highway safety funds. ADOT will also add white pavement arrows pointing in the correct direction of travel, both at interchanges where signs will be installed and in areas where crews upgraded signs in recent years.

Most work will occur on ramp shoulders, with short delays or ramp closures possible at some locations. Freeway traffic will not be affected.

Along with installing larger signs, ADOT’s efforts to reduce wrong way crashes includes a first-in-the-nation thermal-camera wrong-way vehicle alert system along some freeway segments in the Phoenix area.

The updated red wrong way signs along exit ramps have been enlarged from 30 by 24 inches to 48 by 36 inches. At the same time, the bottom edge of the signs will be about 3 feet above the ground, rather than 7 feet, so they are closer to a driver’s line of vision.

ADOT first installed 26 of these larger signs above the left lanes of I-17 in Phoenix in 2017 in association with the first-in-the-nation thermal-camera wrong-way vehicle alert system being evaluated by the state.