PHOENIX – A partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Arizona Water Science Center is helping Arizona Department of Transportation engineers anticipate the effects of extreme weather on bridges and highways and design ways to handle it. 

Since its start in 2014, this collaboration has evolved to improve ADOT's use data involving flooding, natural hazards and weather-related risks through the agency's Resilience Program. 

“With U.S. Geological Survey's expertise in water science and hydrology, ADOT can now use these data to construct and maintain bridges and roadways that better reflects how the natural environment and highway infrastructure interact,” said Steven Olmsted, program manager with ADOT Environmental Planning. “These data have already made a difference on numerous ADOT projects.”

An example of this partnership is 2017 improvements to US 160 bridge spanning Laguna Creek on the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona. The project, which won an award from Arizona State University’s Metis Center for Infrastructure and Sustainable Engineering, used data on the volume and velocity of the creek's flow to anticipate how the channel will change. 

The resulting project protected the bridge's abutments by using gabion baskets, which are metal cages filled with rocks, to reduce meandering where the creek passes under US 160.

According to USGS Arizona Water Science Center hydrologist Brandon Forbes, “this partnership has also established a successful framework for collaboration between USGS and State DOTs, and is being adopted by many other USGS offices across the country.”

ADOT’s goal is to develop an end-to-end engineering-based process that will incorporate extreme weather and climate adaptation into the design of highway and bridge projects.

PHOENIX – To help freight move efficiently while ensuring that commercial vehicles can operate safely on state highways, the Arizona Department of Transportation has expanded its use of technology that screens moving trucks for weight and identifying information.

This system, used until now at select rest areas including McGuireville on Interstate 17, Sacaton on Interstate 10 and Canoa Ranch on Interstate 19, is now operating at ADOT’s commercial ports of entry along I-10, I-40 and State Route 95 in Parker.

“This truck screening system will allow our officers to focus on the commercial vehicles that need our officers’ attention,” said Jeff Stanhope, deputy director for ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division. “It helps us make better use of our resources and efforts while allowing trucks in compliance to go on their way.”

The technology includes weigh-in-motion sensors, cameras that are designed to read USDOT  numbers and license plates, and message signs. An additional feature at the Ehrenberg and San Simon ports of entry on I-10 also identifies commercial vehicles with tires that could be damaged or in need of repair. The failure of a tire on a commercial vehicle can lead to catastrophic collisions and cause tire debris to be deposited on and along roadways.

As a commercial vehicle approaches the port of entry, highway signs direct the driver into the right lane. When the truck is a half mile from the port, the weigh-in-motion sensors and cameras capture the vehicle’s weight and identifying information and relay it to ADOT Enforcement and Compliance officers at the port.

The computer checks the truck’s credentials against national and state databases. If the truck is cleared and within weight limits, the message boards along the highway direct the driver to bypass the port and continue on. If there is an issue identified with the commercial vehicle, such as expired registration, federal out-of-service orders or required permits not on file, the signs direct the driver to pull into the port for further inspection.

In addition to saving ADOT officers and truck drivers time and resources, the system tracks and stores the size and weights of the commercial vehicles entering Arizona. This data will help ADOT’s Multimodal Planning Division make more informed decisions about the state’s highway system in the future.

PHOENIX – To enhance safety and minimize disruption of traffic after crashes on Valley freeways, the Arizona Department of Transportation has established an Incident Response Unit to work alongside state troopers and other first responders.

Fourteen units, which are part of ADOT’s Traffic Systems Management and Operations Division (TSMO), patrol freeways to be ready to respond quickly to incidents. Drivers can expect to see them helping with traffic control after crashes, removing debris from freeways and doing minor maintenance.

It’s another way ADOT is using the Arizona Management System championed by Governor Doug Ducey to improve processes and increase value to the traveling public, in this case with a goal of reducing crashes that often occur in traffic backups while supporting traffic flow on Valley freeways.

“Secondary crashes are often worse than the initial incident,” said Brent Cain, director of the Transportation Systems Management and Operations Division. “By having units ready to respond and quickly clearing minor crashes off the road or setting up proper traffic control, it’s going to improve safety for motorists and first responders.

Because the units are mobile and already on the road, ADOT’s incident response times will be reduced. Previously, maintenance crews had to stop their work and return to maintenance yards to pick up vehicles and equipment before responding to crashes. These new units are equipped with message boards and traffic cones needed at crash scenes and closures.

A faster response means traffic control will be set up sooner, freeing Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers to concentrate on crash investigations. Incident Response Unit crews also can safely move minor collisions off the roadway.

Drivers can expect to see ADOT units on Phoenix area freeways weekdays from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Crews will be on call overnights and weekends.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has added to the ways drivers see the posted speed limit on a stretch of State Route 347 in the southeast Valley.

The speed limit is now displayed on the highway pavement in large white decals as part of an effort to improve safety along SR 347 between Interstate 10 and Riggs Road.

Testing the speed limit pavement decals is a first for ADOT’s Phoenix-area highways. Standard speed limit signs also are in place adjacent to where the decals have been added.

Traffic engineers recommended the pavement decals for SR 347 in areas where the speed limit drops as drivers approach intersections. Decals now help show the northbound speed limit transitions from 65 mph to 55 mph approaching the Maricopa Road intersection and from 55 mph to 45 mph as drivers approach the I-10/Queen Creek Road interchange.

The pavement decals also are in place along southbound SR 347 approaching the Riggs Road intersection, where the speed limit drops from 65 mph to 55 mph.

ADOT’s review of law enforcement crash reports found that officers cited “speed too fast for conditions” as a driver violation in more than half of crashes along SR 347 between I-10 and Riggs Road.

Speed limit pavement decals also are being tested at one location along SR 160 in northeastern Arizona.

PHOENIX – To enhance safety and manage traffic through the bridge improvement project along Interstate 15 in the Virgin River Gorge, the Arizona Department of Transportation is using a first-of-its-kind alert system to help reduce emergency braking and collisions.

With I-15 reduced to one lane in each direction during construction, traffic begins to queue during peak travel times and holidays. A queue warning system that includes portable message boards informs drivers of stop-and-go traffic ahead using equipment that detects traffic in real-time. 

With advance notice, drivers can anticipate heavy traffic, slow down and avoid erratic behavior, helping reduce collisions in the queue.

While this is the first time the system has been used on an ADOT project, going forward the agency intends to use it on projects creating similar traffic conditions.

The $6.4 million bridge improvement project is resurfacing the decks of Bridge No. 2 and Bridge No. 5 in I-15, while Bridge No. 4 is receiving a new deck. 

The project is scheduled to wrap up next spring.

For more information, please visit azdot.gov/projects and click on the North Central District.

PHOENIX – A tunnel built to keep pedestrians safe near the Arizona Department of Transportation’s commercial port of entry in Nogales is now open around the clock.

ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division conducts truck safety inspections near where pedestrians emerge from the federal portion of the Mariposa Port of Entry. The 150-yard underground walkway keeps pedestrians out of the way of trucks that have cleared ADOT inspections and are accelerating to merge onto State Route 189.

To encourage more pedestrians to use the tunnel, ADOT has reconfigured fencing near both ends, and the passage is now open 24 hours a day rather than during the ADOT facility’s hours of operation.

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.