PHOENIX - After a spectacularly strong monsoon dumped 1.5 inches of rain on northern Arizona’s Vermilion Cliffs in just 15 minutes, it was no surprise that mud and rocks had covered US 89A.

But when Arizona Department of Transportation crews arrived on that day in August 2015, what they saw stopped their bulldozers in their tracks: boulders the size of elephants – 15 feet in diameter – and mud in seven different slides that covered portions of 24 miles of the only road across a wide area north of the Grand Canyon. 

In the first six hours, ADOT crews from Page, Flagstaff and Fredonia rescued motorists trapped between mud flows, and within about 20 hours they had one lane open across the area. But the rest of the job was too big for ADOT’s local crews to handle.

The solution: A process known as Job Order Contracting allowed ADOT to bring in The S.J. Anderson Company of Mesa to repair damaged sections of the road quickly and at the lowest possible cost. For that rapid and efficient response as well as its value to the public, the US 89A House Rock Flash Flood Project has been recognized as the 2015 Harry H. Mellon Award of Excellence Winner in Job Order Contracting.

Invented in 1982, Job Order Contracting is a competitively bid construction procurement process government agencies use to accomplish a large number of repair, alteration and straightforward construction projects based on a set of locally priced construction tasks and competitively awarded contracts. Since its invention, Job Order Contracting has developed into a popular solution for agencies to manage and expedite construction projects.

The award, presented annually since 2007 by Greenville, S.C.-based Gordian Group, a provider of construction cost data, software and services, recognizes facility owners, managers and contractors who perform essential repair, alteration and maintenance work using the Job Order Contracting system. ADOT’s entry was selected from thousands nationwide.

“This year’s Award of Excellence winner demonstrated the speed, versatility and efficiencies of Job Order Contracting, even in the face of a natural disaster,” said William Pollak, CEO of Gordian. “We congratulate Arizona DOT and The S.J. Anderson Company for the remarkable job they did serving road users in Arizona.”

Even with the challenges of a huge task in a remote location, the US 89A repairs were completed in just 53 days, with ADOT providing on-site inspection. The contractor mobilized within days of proposal acceptance, bringing crews and equipment from around the Southwest.

“This award recognizes a creative approach that allowed ADOT’s Northcentral District to respond quickly, efficiently and effectively to an unexpected challenge,” said Dallas Hammit, ADOT’s state engineer and deputy director for transportation. “Completing the repairs and cleanup of such a large event in less than two months was an outstanding achievement.”

The value of the Job Order Contracting process was clear when a second monsoon storm caused  damage while the repairs were underway. Using standard costs approved by the Arizona Department of Administration, ADOT was able to approve the added work without delay and incorporate it into the project.

Gordian presented the award Thursday, Aug. 4, at the ADOT administration building in Phoenix.
 

PHOENIX – Noting the agency’s significant contributions to the state’s economy through partnerships with contractors, Engineering News-Record Southwest magazine has honored the Arizona Department of Transportation as Owner of the Year for its management of infrastructure projects.

The honor, presented recently during the publication’s annual awards luncheon in Phoenix, also highlighted how ADOT benefits Arizonans and works with Arizona’s construction industry.

“As an agency we are proud to have received this honor,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “Our employees deserve a lot of credit for working through the challenges presented by the economic downturn last decade. Transportation is such an important part of the state’s economic engine.”

The publication cited the ongoing $110 million Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway widening project in Mesa and the $73 million widening of Loop 101 in the Scottsdale area as examples of major infrastructure improvements. Both projects, designed to accommodate future traffic growth, are slated for completion next year.

“ADOT’s commitment to working with the contracting industry to resolve challenges and to build strong working relationships is one of the best in the country,” Sundt Construction Inc. CEO Mike Hoover told ENR Southwest. “In fact, ADOT has led the nation in its innovative partnering strategies since the early 1990s.”

The magazine also recognized ADOT for its $25 million reconstruction of US 89 south of Page after a 2013 landslide, naming it Best Highway/Bridge Project and winner of the annual Excellence in Safety award.

For more information about ADOT, visit azdot.gov.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is being honored for its commitment to diversity in business relationships with suppliers and contractors.

The Arizona Million Dollar Circle of Excellence award, presented by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Minority Business Development Agency, recognizes organizations whose practices support small businesses owned by minorities and women.

“This agency is grounded in the values of accountability, integrity and respect,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “The commitment to diversity recognized by this award speaks to one core way we hold ourselves to the highest professional standards.”

Gonzalo A. de la Melena Jr., president and CEO of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said Hispanics impact every segment of Arizona’s economy, including the transportation infrastructure.

“So we’re pleased to have a partner in the Arizona Department of Transportation as we promote diversity in hiring, promotion and the supply chain pipeline,” he said.

Those selected for this honor have helped disadvantaged business enterprises earn more than $1 million in the past year. In ADOT’s case, the contracts were worth more than $25 million.

“ADOT employees have worked extensively to connect with the diversity of Arizona’s business community,” Halikowski said. “In addition to informing about potential bid opportunities, they educate firms about how to do business with ADOT.”

ADOT will receive the award Friday, Nov. 13, in Phoenix at the Business Diversity Summit organized by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Minority Business Development Agency.

PHOENIX ‒ Arizona Highways was a big winner in the International Regional Magazine Association awards for 2014. The magazine, produced by the Arizona Department of Transportation, picked up 16 awards, including seven top honors, at a recent ceremony in San Diego.

John Burcham’s “Long Exposure,” a September 2014 portfolio for which Burcham photographed Bismarck Lake near Flagstaff for an entire year, won gold in the Photo Series category. Editor Robert Stieve took home a gold award for that portfolio's headline, and Burcham won silver in the Photographer of the Year competition.

Other 2014 gold winners were for the magazine’s January cover, which featured a shot from the Vermilion Cliffs; Jack Unruh’s illustration of a jaguar (April); Charles Bowden’s “Counting Sheep” (February), an essay about bighorn reintroductions in the Santa Catalina Mountains; Joel Grimes’ portrait of a rodeo announcer (August); and Matt Jaffe’s “Two Men and a Truck” (November), a travelogue from the Navajo Nation.

Arizona Highways’ 16 total awards were the second-most in the competition, behind only Texas Highways’ 17. The seven golds were tied for the most with Down East: The Magazine of Maine.

In addition, Arizona Highways Publisher Win Holden received the Kenneth L. Gibbs Award for Merit, the association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Arizona Highways captures the essence of this state’s exquisite landscapes and byways while promoting Arizona’s brand around the world,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “While we are proud of the individuals who earned these awards, we’re even more proud of Arizona Highways’ role in this agency’s mission of moving Arizona and its economy forward.”

The International Regional Magazine Association was founded in 1960 to support and promote regional magazines in the United States and elsewhere.

Founded in 1925, Arizona Highways is dedicated to promoting travel to and through the state of Arizona. In addition to the world-renowned magazine known for spectacular landscape photography, Arizona Highways publishes travel guide books, calendars and other products to promote travel in Arizona.  The magazine has subscribers in all 50 states and more than 110 countries.

For more information about Arizona Highways and to subscribe, please visit arizonahighways.com.

Gold Awards

‒ Nature & Environment: “Counting Sheep,” Charles Bowden, February 2014
‒ Travel Feature: “Two Men and a Truck,” Matt Jaffe, November 2014
‒ Head and Deck: “Long Exposure,” Robert Stieve, September 2014
‒ Photo Series: “Long Exposure,” John Burcham, September 2014
‒ Portrait Photo: Rodeo announcer (The Journal), Joel Grimes, August 2014
‒ Illustration: Jaguar (Spotted in Southern Arizona), Jack Unruh, April 2014
‒ Cover: Vermilion Cliffs, Barbara Glynn Denney, January 2014

Silver Awards

‒ Public Issues: The Verde, Terry Greene Sterling, March 2014
‒ Single Photo: "Monument Valley (A Picture’s Worth ... Eh, Let’s Skip the Words)," Enio Lanaro, April 2014
‒ Magazine Photographer of the Year: John Burcham
‒ Department: The Journal, Arizona Highways Staff
‒ Special Focus: Winter issue, December 2014
‒ Companion Website: Arizona Highways Staff

Awards of Merit

‒ Service Article: “On the Edge,” Robert Stieve, July 2014
‒ Essay: “A Winter’s Walk,” Craig Childs, January 2014
‒ Art Direction of a Single Story: “French Impressions,” Barbara Glynn Denney, Keith Whitney and Jeff Kida, August 2014

PHOENIX ‒ After a 2013 landslide closed US 89 and split the communities of Page and Bitter Springs, the Arizona Department of Transportation completed a critical $25 million repair. Now an industry publication has honored that effort as one of the top projects completed in 2015.

Engineering News-Record Southwest selected ADOT along with its contractors – FNF Construction for the construction work and AECOM for the design – for the 2015 Project of the Year in the highway/bridge category. The honor earns the US 89 project consideration for the Best of the Best Projects 2015 Awards, judged by construction industry professionals from across the country.

“ADOT, along with our design and construction contractors, rose to meet the technical and logistical challenges of the US 89 repair,” said ADOT Director John Halikowski. “The result was not only industry recognition, but also the restoration of an important highway for thousands of people in northern Arizona who depend on the corridor as their connection to the rest of the state.”

ADOT assembled a team of engineering experts to develop a long-term solution for restoring this vital route near Page. The nine-month-long project, which started in July 2014 following extensive environmental and geotechnical work, removed about 1 million cubic yards of earth and rock to realign a 1,500-foot section of roadway and create a rock buttress to help stabilize the area.

While working on the long-term solution, ADOT paved Navajo Route 20, which was mostly a dirt and sandy road stretching from Bodaway-Gap to LeChee, to serve as the temporary US 89 route. This reduced the length of the original established detour route (US 160 and State Route 98) in half, and served as the short-term solution for motorists heading to and from Page until the US 89 reconstruction was finished last spring.

The reconstruction project was paid for through emergency relief funds from the Federal Highway Administration.

PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Transportation, which has been nationally recognized for its creative and innovative solutions to promote safe travel while protecting wildlife and connecting ecosystems, received another accolade for its leadership in developing wildlife crossing structures in Arizona.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration recently awarded ADOT and its partner Animal Road Crossing Solutions this year’s Environmental Excellence Award for Excellence in Environmental Leadership.

Arizona has long been considered a leader in wildlife connectivity issues. ADOT and multiple partner agencies, including the Arizona Game and Fish Department, collaborated to construct wildlife underpasses and elk crossings along State Route 260 east of Payson and desert bighorn sheep overpasses near historic Hoover Dam on US 93.

“ADOT has a long record of innovative and successful wildlife accommodations as part of construction projects,” said ADOT Director John Halikowski. “While ADOT is not a wildlife-management agency, we are a transportation safety agency and we partner with other agencies, such as the Arizona Game and Fish Department, in an effort to preserve and protect wildlife, while reducing vehicle-wildlife collisions.”

According to data collected by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, more than 15,000 crossings by 16 species of animals were recorded at six underpasses along SR 260 in Arizona over a seven-year period. In addition, more than 4,300 desert bighorn sheep crossed three overpasses on US 93 in Arizona in a two-year span.

In addition to preserving wildlife, these specialized crossings protect drivers from crashes with some of the state’s big game.

A fencing project linking three existing crossing structures on SR 260 reduced elk-vehicle collisions by 98 percent over a six-year span.

Wildlife crossing structures and fencing can greatly lessen the impact of traffic because, together, they provide safe linkages across highways, helping ensure stable local and regional wildlife populations.

Selected by an independent panel, the Environmental Excellence Award is the Federal Highway Administration’s biennial recognition of innovative efforts to preserve the environment while enhancing America’s highways.

“Building a 21st-century transportation system that is cost-efficient and protects the environment requires creativity and innovation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “These awards demonstrate FHWA’s support of projects that approach current and future transportation challenges with new solutions.”

Additional information about the 2015 Environmental Excellence Award recipients can be found at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/environmental_excellence_awards/.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has been recognized for its environmental protection efforts while rebuilding the San Pedro Bridge through a sensitive conservation area on State Route 90 east of Sierra Vista.

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation’s annual Globe Awards this month highlighted ADOT’s work to protect the natural environment during a nearly two-year reconstruction.

Throughout the project, ADOT employed a biologist to monitor construction impacts on the river as well as the more than 200 animal species and 250 migratory bird species in the area.

While the bridge replacement began in October 2012, work halted the following April through October to avoid disrupting the migratory bird season in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.

Other environmental mitigation measures included a containment plan to prevent debris from contaminating the San Pedro, along with lead paint abatement before the old bridge was demolished. Also, the project included re-seeding vegetation and planting trees.

“ADOT worked to be good stewards of the environment from the planning all the way through the construction of the new San Pedro Bridge,” said Safford District Engineer Bill Harmon. “This environmental award demonstrates ADOT can preserve nature while improving the area’s transportation system.”

The Globe Award recognizes transportation agencies that do an outstanding job protecting the environment in the planning, design and construction of infrastructure projects. The recognition was in the category of bridges costing less than $10 million.

The San Pedro Bridge is an important link between the communities of Sierra Vista, Tombstone and Bisbee. The old bridge, built in 1955, was replaced with a structure featuring wider travel lanes, emergency shoulders and greater clearance over the San Pedro River. The $6.2 million project was completed in March 2014.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has been honored for its support and advancement of women in transportation. The department received the Employer of the Year award from the Phoenix Chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar at the organization’s annual scholarships and awards ceremony.

In an industry typically dominated by men, ADOT was recognized for its upward movement and promotion of women, along with its workforce development program, which supports, engages and empowers employees, recognizing the fundamental contributions of both women and men, which are necessary to achieve a high-performing organization.

“I am proud to lead an agency that recognizes the talents of so many dedicated and hard-working individuals, both women and men, who make a difference every day as we work together to provide a safe, efficient and reliable transportation system for the people of Arizona,” said ADOT Director John Halikowski, who accepted the award Saturday night with a team of top ADOT managers alongside him.

“There is strength in numbers, and the women of ADOT have done an outstanding job not only in the field of transportation, but in supporting each other through leadership and mentoring. This environment is part of the overall culture at ADOT, one that fosters success as an individual and success as an entire agency.”

One of ADOT’s most successful programs is the Women Information Network, or WIN. This program, which is led by a group of female supervisors and managers, provides opportunities for all female employees at ADOT when it comes to networking, discussion and mentoring, in order to identify and implement advancement and leadership opportunities within the agency. WIN provides a variety of events throughout the year for female employees through brown-bag lunch programs with relevant topics, an ongoing mentoring program, and education encouragement for working women.

“WTS celebrates ADOT’s initiative to provide women with workforce enhancement and management opportunities,” said Susan Tierney, president of the WTS Metropolitan Phoenix Chapter. “ADOT leadership clearly recognizes that providing opportunities for women to learn and thrive in the workplace is a rock-solid strategy.”