Pardon me boys. Is that the Hattie B. choo-choo?

It’s been nearly 40 years since a passenger train dubbed the Hattie B. chugged its way into Arizona transportation history as one of the only ways to cross the Salt River during epic flooding that washed out most bridges and temporarily closed the busy Interstate 10 bridge spanning the river.

Whether called the Puddle Jumper, Sardine Express or, most commonly, the Hattie B., this short-lived but storied railroad was certainly the little engine that could, with five cars and two engines shuttling tens of thousands of commuters across the Salt River in Tempe. 

Feb. 25 marks the 40th anniversary of the Hattie B.’s maiden trip. Though long gone, the train holds a special place in the memories of those who hopped aboard it and others who viewed it as a ray of sunshine during the dark and rainy days of early 1980. 

At the time, a group of melodious ADOT employees sang in the agency’s Fender Benders choir, which wrote and performed the “Hattie B. Choo-Choo,” sung to the tune of the “Chattanooga Choo-Choo.” The first verse begins this post.

By early 1980, the Phoenix region had been getting drenched for months as storms swelled rivers and interfered with transportation.

After engineers determined that the rising Salt River was scouring piers on the I-10 crossing, the bridge was closed, leaving the Mill Avenue Bridge as the primary span for motorists and the heavy duty Southern Pacific railroad bridge for trains.

The I-10 closure affected more than 100,000 vehicles that regularly used it between downtown Phoenix and the East Valley.

“It was huge news when almost all the bridges were flooded,” recalls Doug Nick, ADOT assistant communications director for customer outreach who was in high school at the time.

ADOT coordinated with Amtrak and Southern Pacific to put together an emergency train shuttle across the Salt River.

Under contract with ADOT, Amtrak relocated from California two diesel engines and up to six cars with 84 seats. Southern Pacific provided operating crews and rescheduled freight trains to avoid conflicts.

Former Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt and his wife, Harriet, also known as Hattie, were among a host of officials who took a test trip aboard the train. It was named the Hattie B. in honor of the state’s first lady.

It subsequently earned the Sardine Express moniker because it was so packed with passengers. It was also tagged the Puddle Jumper.

“Folks got a ride,

Aboard the Hattie B. Choo Choo.

Got there in time,

Without the traffic jam line.”

T-shirts bearing the train’s nicknames began circulating among residents, who saw the Hattie B. as a beacon of light in the darkness.

The Hattie B. carried more than 46,000 riders between Mesa and Phoenix during its two-week tenure. It was put out of commission when I-10 and other bridges reopened after floodwaters receded.

The train ran from 5:30 a.m-10 p.m. Monday to Friday between Union Station in Phoenix and the Mesa rail station 15 miles east. It also stopped at the FedMart in Tempe and AiResearch, now Honeywell. The one-hour round trip was $1 in exact change each way, and the Hattie B. made seven trips daily. 

Behind the scenes, hundreds of ADOT employees worked nights, weekends and holidays assessing damage, finding alternate transportation modes, planning emergency and permanent repairs, controlling traffic, and, up north, plowing snow.

A big share of the burden fell on ADOT’s Structures Section, as the unit was known then, which closely monitored the I-10 bridge and others statewide, and ADOT planners, who arranged shuttle rail and bus transportation for Mesa and Tempe residents on short notice.

Outside agencies that played a role in the Hattie B.’s creation included the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Maricopa Association of Governments, the region's transportation-planning agency.

The Hattie B. episode was of particular significance to Phoenix because the city was smaller at that time and easily unified by common events, ADOT's Doug Nick said.

“It was a different time back then,” Nick said. “Phoenix was much smaller, much more provincial ... Calamity brought people together.”

“We were leaving Tempe Station ‘bout quarter to 8,

Missin’ all that traffic, Gee it was really great!

You cannot malign’er, nothing could be finer.

Whoo-whoo, Hattie’s choo-choo, there you are!

Whoo-whoo, Hattie’s choo-choo, there you are!”

ADOT has been represented by four very distinct logos over the last 45 years. Each one has helped the agency to create an identity and build public awareness, which is exactly what a well-designed logo is supposed to do.

 

 

1974-1995

This logo was designed by an ADOT graphic artist named Lillian Becker back in 1974 when the Arizona Highway Department officially became ADOT. According to a 1995 issue of Newsbeat, ADOT’s employee newsletter of the day, elements of the logo signified different parts of the new agency:

“One of the vertical lines represented a highway and the other a runway. The bottom horizontal line represented mass transportation, which was a new responsibility for ADOT during the 1970s.”

 

 

 

 

1995-1999

While it stayed around for only four years, this logo was one that employees were excited about in 1995, according to Newsbeat. The newsletter quoted an employee representative saying that the idea for the new logo was to take on a “modern corporate look that was less stuffy.” According to Newsbeat, the Executive Quality Council worked with ADOT graphic artists, who developed about 60 ideas for a potential new logo. A “special logo team” picked six logos and sent out ballots with the choices. Newsbeat reported that 53% of ADOT employees responded, and the winning logo received 1,027 votes, or about 43% of the responses.

 

 

 

1999-2012

When ADOT celebrated its 25th birthday 20 years ago, this logo was adopted to take the agency into the new millennium.

According to a 1999 issue of Mileposts, the employee newsletter of the day, ADOT Director Mary Peters challenged a nine-member team to develop a new logo that would “would work well with an aggressive marketing plan and improve the image of the agency both in the public sector and within the agency.” ADOT graphic designer Ron Loar was quoted by Mileposts describing the design:

“We were after a contemporary design … The new logo breaks away from a traditional government look and achieves a corporate look in keeping with current graphic design trends.”

The logo’s colors — plum and teal — were chosen, according to Mileposts, for their overall appeal and because they are representative of the Southwest.

 

 

 

2012-present

In 2012, it was determined that the agency’s logo was outdated and didn’t adequately represent ADOT as a progressive multimodal agency. This logo, which is still in use today, is a streamlined interpretation of the former logo that focuses on the ADOT text element. Today’s logo reinforces ADOT name recognition while removing the former logo’s immediate association with only roads.

Does the date July 1, 1974, ring a bell to you? I was in high school and living in the Midwest, and had no idea that date would have significance to me later in life. July 1, 1974, represents the beginning of what is today the Arizona Department of Transportation. We are 45 years and counting.

Let me provide a brief history lesson. Before 1974, there was the Arizona Highway Department. Its main focus was on highways – constructing and maintaining a state highway system. Our state was booming in population. Arizona experienced a 53% increase in population during the 1970s and 35% in the 1980s. It was hard to keep up with the growth, especially in the area of infrastructure. The need for a strong and reliable transportation system statewide was felt by state lawmakers. So, in 1973, the Arizona Legislature passed legislation that combined the Arizona Highway Department, the motor vehicle services agency and the Arizona Aeronautics Department. The new agency would be called the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Did you know that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor had a pivotal role in the formation of ADOT? While serving as Arizona State Senate Majority Leader, she led a group of Valley lawmakers in developing the legislation that would establish ADOT in 1973.

Per the legislation, ADOT was now responsible for all the state highways and state-owned airports, and would play a role in planning aviation, mass transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities. ADOT is the only state DOT in the country that has its own airport – Grand Canyon National Park Airport. Its terminal has been in operation for 52 years.

The Motor Vehicle Division was already in existence and its functions were also added to the agency’s responsibilities. MVD continued to be responsible for vehicle registration, driver licensing, revenue collection and distribution. Our port and enforcement activities were also under MVD.

There have been seven ADOT directors since 1974, including me. I am now going on my 10th year as director. I am sure each director will tell you there have been many challenges during their tenure and a great deal of satisfaction when it comes to providing a safe and reliable transportation system for the people of Arizona. The employees at ADOT have always thought of safety first – it’s been our mantra since day one.

I invite you to read our employee newsletter, The Inside Lane, from now until December. We are taking a walk down memory lane and revisiting our history as an agency. We are identifying milestones in 10-year increments in each issue, having employees share their memories of working at ADOT and writing about changes in the industry and workplace. I think you will be amazed on what ADOT has accomplished these past 45 years.

So, here’s to you, ADOT –  45 years and counting….

The big reorganization brought with it many new responsibilities for the department, including the addition of several new divisions.On July 1, 1974, the Arizona Highway Department officially became the Arizona Department of Transportation ... but the real shift involved much more than just a name change.

Before 1974, the Highway Department was centered on, well, highways. But when ADOT was born, the focus broadened to six divisions: Aeronautics, Highways, Administrative Services, Transportation Planning, Public Transit and Motor Vehicles.

Arizona Highway Department Director Justin Herman wrote about the change in a message to employees that appeared in the June 1973 issue of Drumbeats, the department’s employee newsletter of the day. Right after Arizona Governor Jack Williams signed the reorganization into law, Herman told workers that the transition would be smooth and efficient.

“We will be heading in a new and challenging direction. Some employees will still be dealing strictly with highway matters. Others will be involved in a broader look at transportation.

“We have every confidence that, with each employee’s help, we can launch the new DOT successfully and ensure for Arizona a top-notch Department of Transportation such as the Highway Department now is, enriched by the high tradition of public service for which our organization has always been known.”“The present legislation is probably only a beginning, a foundation on which new responsibilities will be added as time goes on. It can be expected that highways in Arizona will undoubtedly continue to be the dominant mode of travel, but the state for the first time will have an agency authorized to take a serious look at all transportation modes.

Highway maintenance and construction certainly didn't falter during the change. Here are some of the projects and major accomplishments from the transitional years of 1973 to 1975:

In the 1973-74 fiscal year alone, a total of 147.7 miles of state highway were completed and opened to traffic. More than half of this was on the interstate system, which at the time was only 88% complete.

 

Interstate 15 was officially opened by the governors of Arizona and Utah.

Crews added new southbound roadway and overlaid northbound lanes for 14 miles on Interstate 17 south of Flagstaff.

Workers reconstructed 21 miles of Interstate 10 in Pima and Cochise counties and completed the 4-mile I-10 bypass of Benson.

Crews worked on various Interstate 40 projects west of Flagstaff.

The agency worked toward adding two lanes of divided highway on I-17 through Copper Canyon, south of Camp Verde.

Crews continued the Superstition Freeway from Price Road to Dobson Road in the East Valley and worked on construction of I-10 west of Phoenix.

It’s safe to say that the switch from a Highway Department to a Department of Transportation was a major milestone in Arizona’s transportation history. Look for more posts in coming weeks about this change and ADOT's history over the past nearly half century.