PHOENIX – A long stretch of Loop 303 is the latest to undergo an oil-based treatment to extend the life of the pavement on Valley freeways.

Completed in less than a day over this past weekend, this work represents the most miles of freeway pavement the Arizona Department of Transportation has ever refreshed in a single fog seal project. In all, 21 miles of Loop 303 from I-10 in Goodyear to Happy Valley Parkway in Peoria were treated.

“This process allows us to keep the existing rubberized asphalt pavement in place while saving valuable state highway funds for other improvements,” said Steve Boschen, who directs ADOT’s Infrastructure Delivery and Operations Division. “Similar to changing the oil in your car at regular intervals, this extends the life of the pavement.”

In the past two years, other stretches of Phoenix-area freeways, including I-10, Loop 101 and State Route 51, have also been refreshed with the pavement sealant.

These projects have benefited from employee innovations that help limit how long freeways need to be closed for fog sealing.

For example, ADOT maintenance crews fashioned large diamond-shaped metal covers that are lifted into place by workers in trucks to protect HOV-lane pavement markers when the oil-based sealant is being applied along carpool lanes. This “reverse stencil” saves time and avoids the expense of repainting HOV-lane markers at an estimated cost of $310 each.

ADOT focused on advance planning and assigning adequate resources to limit the length of closures needed for the Loop 303 improvement. Working from both ends of the project’s limits, crews finished applying the pavement seal coat in a matter of hours using a fleet of tank trucks equipped with spray nozzles.

The team also quickly picked up barricades as segments of Loop 303 were ready to reopen in stages during the day. The entire freeway reopened two hours ahead of schedule.

“This was a huge team effort with preparations that started months ago,” said Randy Everett, ADOT’s Central District administrator. “We focused on lessening the impacts on drivers. The timing of getting traffic back on the freeway exceeded expectations. That’s a tribute to all employees who had a hand in getting the job done.”

With 155 lane miles now treated along Loop 303, ADOT is looking ahead to additional pavement treatments in coming years.

“We’ve learned a lot about this type of project, especially when it comes to communication,” said Mark Kilian, ADOT project supervisor. “This involved a lot of coordination to get the closure information out to the public as well as key stakeholders so they could plan on using detour routes. Staff inside the ADOT Traffic Operations Center in Phoenix played a key role in tracking our progress and providing status updates.”

Information about ADOT state highway improvement projects is available at azdot.gov/projects.

NOGALES – The Arizona Department of Transportation’s first-of-its-kind international truck safety training program is adding another innovation to its resume: focusing instruction on commercial truckers from the maquiladora industry.

At the request of operators of border-area plants in Mexico making goods for export, ADOT’s Border Liaison Unit recently offered its first International Border Inspection Qualification training session for the maquiladora industry in Hermosillo, capital of the Mexican state of Sonora.

“Expanding to maquiladoras demonstrates that our partners in Mexico see as much value in this safety training as we do,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “Interest from the maquiladora industry also means the safety and economic benefits we have seen in this program’s first year will multiply.”

Maquiladora factories import certain material and equipment without duties or tariffs. Goods are assembled, processed or manufactured using that material and then returned to the U.S. The industry employs about 34,000 people in Sonora near the Arizona border.

ADOT’s Border Liaison Unit developed the International Border Inspection Qualification program to help make Arizona roads safer and to support international trade by training Mexican truck drivers and mechanics – in Mexico – about the safety regulations they must follow to drive on U.S. roads.

The 469 drivers who have completed the training since it began a little more than a year ago have crossed the border nearly 5,500 times but have had only 12 significant safety violations that required trucks to be stopped for repairs.

“Arizona is leading the nation in developing innovative ways to make our ports of entry safer and more efficient - it's been a priority for Governor Ducey since day one,” said Juan Ciscomani, Senior Advisor for Regional and International Affairs to Governor Doug Ducey. “This kind of proactive approach implemented by ADOT and supported by the Arizona-Mexico Commission, under Governor Ducey's leadership, drives Arizona's border to move at the speed of business and supports international commerce in the state."

Following Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance guidelines, which are the standard across the U.S., this training stems from ADOT’s use of the Arizona Management System championed by Governor Ducey to have all employees continuously improve state agencies’ value to their customers.

The Hermosillo session was the 18th held in Mexico since International Border Inspection Qualification training began in summer 2017.

The program also has expanded beyond locations near the Arizona border and Hermosillo, with training offered in Mexicali and Ensenada in Baja California and in Caborca, Sonora, at the request of trucking companies in those areas.

To learn more about ADOT’s Border Liaison Unit and International Border Inspection Qualification training, visit azdot.gov/BLU.

PHOENIX – In another example of the Arizona Management System producing results for taxpayers, the Arizona Department of Transportation recouped $6.6 million for damage to the state highway system during the fiscal year that ended June 30. That’s more than double what the agency recovered four years before and reflects continuous increases since then.

ADOT accomplishes this through its Insurance Recovery Unit, which has a goal of saving Arizonans from bearing the cost of repairs when individuals or firms are responsible for damage to the highway system. Comprised of professionals with insurance industry backgrounds, the unit reaches out to the responsible parties and their insurance carriers to recover the repair costs, which include labor, equipment and materials.

The money recovered goes into the State Highway Fund.

One case of damage that made headlines last year illustrates the value of this work: An over-height vehicle struck a girder and sign at the Interstate 17 bridge over Seventh Avenue in Phoenix (show in the photo), requiring extensive repairs along with traffic restrictions. The Insurance Recovery Unit has documented $361,430.15 in repair costs so far, and the recovery process will begin when the final total is available in the coming weeks.

“Making sure those who damage state property are held accountable protects Arizona’s investment in its highway system,” said Ted Howard, deputy director for ADOT’s Administrative Services Division, which includes the Insurance Recovery Unit. “Applying principles of the Arizona Management System has enabled us to dramatically increase insurance recovery to the benefit of Arizonans.”

Championed by Governor Doug Ducey, the Arizona Management System challenges every state employee to continuously look for ways to improve agencies’ value to customers, including taxpayers.

Process improvements within the Insurance Recovery Unit include reorganizing 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.

“Now we have the best individuals in the right jobs,” said Jim Cupp, who leads the Insurance Recovery Unit. “The efficiency of this model has allowed us to greatly increase recoveries with the same number of employees.”

In fiscal 2014, the unit processed 1,400 claims to recoup more than $3.1 million in damage to the state highway system. For fiscal 2018, the unit handled 2,652 claims to recover $6.58 million. That’s up from $5.41 million in fiscal 2017 and $4.94 million in fiscal 2016.

The recovery process begins when law enforcement responds to an incident in which guardrail, a bridge or some 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.

Since July 2013, ADOT’s Insurance Recovery Unit has processed more than 12,000 claims.

PHOENIX – Wait times have been reduced dramatically at Motor Vehicle Division offices across Arizona thanks to improvements as complex as opening many offices an hour earlier and as simple as having a customer service representative make sure those in line have everything they need to complete their transactions.

A first-of-its-kind training program for truck drivers in Mexico has improved the flow of commerce at international ports of entry where Arizona Department of Transportation officers conduct safety inspections. Today, almost no drivers who have completed the International Border Inspection Qualification are having their trucks pulled out of service to correct safety violations, and Arizona’s highways are safer as a result.

Thanks to a retrofit kit created by employees, ADOT can replace the original halogen bulbs and mechanical shutters in older freeway message boards with state-of-the-art LED lighting – and at a fraction of the cost of replacing the whole board. Net savings: $250,000-plus per board that can be put toward other transportation needs.

Answering Governor Doug Ducey’s call for state agencies to continuously improve their value to taxpayers and other customers through the Arizona Management System, ADOT is dedicated to having every employee, everywhere, solving problems every day.

Because the improvements above are just part of the agency’s continuous improvement journey, ADOT has created a website allowing you to experience many more Arizona Management System successes through stories, blog posts, videos and photos. Visit azdot.gov/AMS to see what’s been accomplished, and come back often to see what’s new.

“For those of us at ADOT, the only thing more inspiring than seeing dozens of Arizona Management System success stories celebrated in one place is imagining how many more there will be in the months and years that follow,” said Scott Omer, ADOT’s Deputy Director/Chief Operating Officer and Continuous Improvement Executive Sponsor. “This new website is a way for all Arizonans to share the journey with us.”

The website separates Arizona Management System success stories into their main benefits: savings in taxpayer money, time savings and safety improvements. Among them:

Saving money: An ADOT Blog post explains how the Equipment Services team in Phoenix is repurposing unused spare tires in fleet vehicles that are put up for auction when replaced. To accomplish this, they changed an ADOT policy that called for tires to be replaced according to their age.

Saving time: A video on the ADOT Blog shared how employees at ADOT’s vehicle repair shop in Tucson are reducing the steps required to perform tasks by better organizing their work stations and the overall operation, down to adding tablets to water in a vehicle’s wiper fluid holder rather than lugging around containers of wiper fluid. The result: more efficient repairs and maintenance of vehicles used by ADOT and by other agencies that contract with ADOT for service.

Safety: An ADOT Blog post shared how wireless technology allows technicians in Phoenix to monitor traffic and signals along State Route 347 in Maricopa and make adjustments remotely that correct problems and improve traffic flow.

An Overview tab explains the Arizona Management System at ADOT and how employees are making countless improvements that may not necessarily turn into news releases or blog posts. An introductory video takes viewers around the state to see how ADOT employees in various roles are using the Arizona Management System to identify and address problems every day in order to improve quality, safety and the agency’s value to customers.

Learn more by visiting ADOT's Continuous Improvement / An AMS Success Story at azdot.gov/AMS.