Celebration is in order for 29 new groups who joined the Adopt a Highway Volunteer Program between August and October, but there are so many more reasons to give thanks.

These are highlights about some of our newest adopters who have joined a force of 8,600 individual volunteers responsible for bagging 103 tons of trash littered on state roadways last year.

The MC Demonz Futbol Club wasted no time tackling 20 bags of trash on their first cleanup along State Route 195 in San Luis. To that we say, Go Demonz!  

A big thank you to the city of Casa Grande, whose 17 employees filled 55 trash bags along a stretch of State Route 347 on National CleanUp Day. That’s about 750 pounds of unsightly mess!

Keep Sedona Beautiful and Green Valley Litter Patrol are both highly organized groups recognized for renewing existing segments and adopting new ones to accommodate a growing need for volunteers. Coordinated cleanups have resulted in thousands of pounds of trash being properly bagged and then hauled away for disposal by ADOT maintenance crews in Arizona's northern and southern regions. Thank you for your partnership.

Three of our newest groups are headed by ADOT staff, whose engagement off the clock mirrors their daily work in support of a safe and efficient transportation system. Thank you, team!

We’re grateful for nearly a dozen new memorial adoptions organized by family and friends to honor loved ones, and all new adopters listed in the graphic. Your contributions represent pride in your community and the value you place on being litter-free.

Our thanks doesn’t end there. We hope that all travelers will help honor this good work by securing items in the vehicle or truck bed that may blow away this holiday season, and by driving with caution through areas where volunteers are working along roadways. 

If you’d like to form your own team of volunteers –whether it’s a  group of two or 20 –, please contact Adopt a Highway to find opportunities in your area. 

Traveling north on US 93 past Kingman is an old mining town called Chloride.

At one point in the town's history, there were over 75 working mines. Today, the number is unknown and they are either privately owned or controlled by the federal government. 

These days, Chloride is popular for a tourist destination four miles off the highway: murals.

An artist named Roy Purcell began painting the now-famous “Purcell Murals” in 1966. The vibrantly-colored murals stretch across several boulders and included depictions of the Tennessee Mine, a productive zinc, gold and lead mine, and other popular images.

Purcell named these murals, “The Journey: Images From an Inward Search for Self” and some of the murals have spiritual meanings. The set of murals cover more than  2,000 square feet.

In addition to Purcell’s paintings, stone carvings and art from other artists can be seen in nearby areas.

Purcell retouched the color of the murals in 1975 and then repainted them again in 2006 when he and 10 other artists restored 19 murals.

Purcell is recognized throughout the Southwest as his artwork can be found in collections of  major international corporations Dow Chemical and The Royal Bank of Canada.

To reach the murals, exit US 93 and travel east toward Chloride. The murals are about 1.5 miles east of town and you’ll travel by car or foot on a dirt road that isn’t maintained by ADOT. Make sure your vehicle – high-clearance and four-wheel or all-wheel drive would be best – can handle this road before driving down the dirt road. 

Summer is still in full swing, but ADOT is already gearing up for winter.

Recently, about 20 operators converged upon Flagstaff to get acquainted with five new plows.The day included classroom instruction and hands-on training. 

Crew members learned about troubleshooting the new plows and got acquainted with some of the new features, including easier-to-access controls and touch screen monitors that provide immediate diagnostic information.

“They made some nice changes that will make the truck more comfortable to drive and easy on the driver to operate,” said Chris Celis, a snowplow operator based in Flagstaff. 

He particularly liked the fact that many of the controls were easier to reach.

“It makes it safer since the driver doesn't have to take his eyes off the road as much to see what they are doing,” he said.

Zachary Brishky, another snowplow operator based in Flagstaff, said his favorite upgrade was the touchscreen interface. 

“That’s something that I was really impressed with and really excited for,” he said. “That was really aimed toward the operator. And from what I’ve heard, it sounded like it was going to help our shop and mechanics a lot too because it's going to be a lot easier for them to diagnose codes and easily diagnose what may be going wrong with the truck.”

The five new snowplows will replace older models at maintenance yards in Flagstaff, Fredonia, Prescott Valley and Show Low.

ADOT has 200 snowplows and 400 snowplow operators who work around the clock when snowstorms roll through the state.

If you encounter a snowplow on a highway, give the plow space to do its work. Stay at least four car-lengths behind the plow and never attempt to pass the plow. Let the snowplow operators clear the road ahead for you and make travel safer for everyone.

Safety vests are these heroes' capes, and pickup sticks are their weapons of trash destruction. ADOT cheers on 26 new Adopt a Highway Volunteer groups permitted between May and July, which includes those who graciously extended their volunteer permits for two more years. 

Volunteers come back time and again to help prevent a littered universe, so proper clothing and closed-toed shoes are the basics that help complete the uniform.  

Our lime-green-vested crusaders are directed to avoid handling dangerous things like Kryptonite and other items that scream danger. We ask to steer clear and notify ADOT maintenance with the highway number and mile marker where questionable trash is found. 

Maybe you are reading this and decided that bagging litter is not your thing. Not to worry, because all drivers are champions when they proceed with caution through volunteer work zones. 

You can also help by securing items in your vehicle that may blow away. Stashing trash responsibly until it can be disposed of properly. Smashing litter before it happens is what heroes do. 

If you’d like to join the battle against litter by forming your own team of superheroes, please contact Adopt a Highway to find opportunities in your area.

Listen to the podcast! (or use the embed below)

ADOT's Motor Vehicle Division is committed to using technology to make life more convenient and secure. That's why we recently featured a partnership with the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control that's giving retailers a way to accept digital IDs to verify age.

In the latest episode of our podcast, On the Road With ADOT, MVD Director Eric Jorgensen discusses the Smart ID Verifier app for iPhone. He also talks with our host, Doug Nintzel, about other innovations designed with convenience and security in mind. In addition to the link above, we've embedded this episode below. 

You can subscribe to episodes of On the Road with ADOT through Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You also can find episodes at azdot.gov/Podcast and featured in ADOT Blog posts.

The Smart ID Verifier app accepts mobile IDs, including IDs in Apple Wallet and IDs in Google Wallet, as well as the physical MVD-issued ID card. Businesses can use it to verify age and properly record the verification for compliance with alcohol sales laws. Retailers using the Smart ID Verifier app will only be provided the required information necessary for age verification, such as a customer's age and ID photo. The information is encrypted between devices, so customers do not need to hand over their smartphones.

Neither MVD nor Apple have access to users’ personal information and neither can see when or where users present their mobile IDs, as is the case with physical IDs and driver licenses.

Participation in the acceptance of mobile IDs is optional. Arizonans should continue to carry their physical driver licenses or state ID cards for those retailers who don’t yet accept the digital option.

For additional information about the Smart ID Verifier App, please visit azdot.gov/smart-id-verifier-app.

This new feature provides Arizonans another way to utilize their mobile driver licenses in addition to presenting your ID through any of the three digital wallets at certain TSA airport security checkpoints. 

Arizona was the first state to offer four options to keep your digital license or ID in your smartphone. Arizona first offered the Mobile ID (mID) in 2021, then in 2022 was the first state to add Apple Wallet. Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet for Android devices became available for Arizona driver licenses or ID cards in 2023. 

To learn more about mobile options for Arizona driver licenses and state IDs, please visit azdot.gov/DigitalIDs.

Listen to the episode

While Arizona’s highways have existed almost since statehood in 1912, the Arizona Department of Transportation, is marking its 50th anniversary this month. The reason is a decision by state leaders to consolidate the Arizona Highway Department and Arizona Aeronautics Department as of July 1974. 

To mark this occasion, we're inviting some longtime employees onto our podcast, On the Road With ADOT. The latest episode features Tami Wollaston, who started as a draftsman nearly 51 years ago and currently is a transportation engineering specialist in ADOT’s Roadway Engineering Group. 

I hope you'll spend a few minutes listening to Wollaston visit with our host, Doug Nintzel. 

You can subscribe to monthly episodes of On the Road with ADOT through Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You also can find episodes at azdot.gov/Podcast and featured in ADOT Blog posts.

Three versions of the bridge over the Hassayampa River in Wickenburg have carried traffic for over a century.

In 1914, the first bridge was built to carry the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway over the Hassayampa River. A Thanksgiving Day flood in 1919 caused severe damage; repairs totaling $26,000 (over $816,000 in 2024 dollars) were completed in 1920. The newer structure was a three-span Pratt Truss bridge designed by Arizona State Engineer Thomas Maddock.

Version number two was built in 1935, when the Arizona Highway Department replaced the original bridge with a wider, heavier structure. This bridge had six steel girders, spanning 80 feet each and supported by concrete abutments, making it one of Arizona’s longest early vehicular structures. Over half a million pounds of superstructural steel and 894 cubic yards of concrete went into it. The new Wickenburg Bridge was formally dedicated on April 26, 1937, and carried west- and eastbound US 60 traffic for decades.

In 2009, version number three came into existence. Andrew Roth, ADOT’s assistant Northwest District engineer, says the 1935 bridge was replaced because it no longer met current standards, including floodplain clearance. The side carrying eastbound US 60 traffic, he says, was raised two feet and now serves as the Town of Wickenburg’s Festival Bridge (see the below photo). It’s a pedestrian bridge: Visitors can stroll over the Hassayampa River on the Hassayampa River Walk. The westbound side was demolished to make room for the new bridge.

“[The 1935 bridge] was enhanced in 2015,” Roth added. “Those enhancements included a decorative asphaltic concrete surface - including horseshoe imprints - and benches. There are also bike racks and decorative lights.”