The new year officially is here, but before we dive into 2012 we’re going to take a quick look back.

ADOT’s Public Information/Media Relations team came up with a great list of the state’s major transportation accomplishments from 2011 and we thought we’d share it here on the blog!

From new freeway openings to the approval of ADOT’s Long Range Transportation Plan, here's a look at some of the highlights …

Phoenix Area Freeways:

Loop 303 Opens

ADOT widened major stretches of Phoenix area freeways in 2011 and opened the first new segment of freeway to be built under the Maricopa Association of Government’s 20-year Regional Transportation Plan. Fourteen miles of Loop 303 were opened in May between Interstate 17 and Happy Valley Parkway in Peoria, allowing drivers for the first time to use Loop 303 to make the 39-mile trip between I-17 and I-10.

HOV Lane Additions

Drivers benefited from two accelerated projects to add High Occupancy Vehicle lanes along Loops 101 and 202. The final 30 miles of HOV lanes along Loop 101 between State Route 51 in north Phoenix and I-10 in Tolleson were opened in stages during the year and completed in November. Meanwhile, in the Chandler area, 12 miles of carpool lanes were completed this fall along Loop 202 Santan Freeway between I-10 and Gilbert Road.

I-10 Widening in West Valley

Another significant milestone was marked in August with the completion of ADOT’s three-year initiative to reconstruct and widen I-10 between Loop 101 and Verrado Way. Those projects modernized I-10, transforming what had been a limited highway with two lanes in each direction into a modern freeway that now provides as many as five lanes in each direction – including carpool lanes.

State Highway System:

Mescal Road/J-Six Ranch Road Bridge

Just over six months after a fiery crash damaged the Mescal Road/J-Six Ranch Road bridge, ADOT swiftly rebuilt the bridge to reconnect the Cochise County communities of Mescal and J-Six Ranch, which were separated by I-10 and depend on the overpass for convenient access to goods, services and neighbors. While the bridge was out of service, residents and workers in the Benson-area communities were required to take lengthy detours around I-10 to reach the other side of the highway. Federal Highway Administration emergency relief funds, a shortened time frame for designing the replacement bridge and a quick construction bid process all helped put the project on the fast track. A typical bridge construction project can take up to two years.

State Route 260 Widening

Continuing a decade-long commitment to expand the capacity of SR 260, ADOT completed a project to widen the highway starting 15 miles east of Payson from Little Green Valley to Thompson Draw. The $20 million project is the fourth of six projects to construct a four-lane divided highway from Star Valley to the top of the Mogollon Rim.

State Route 87 Improvements

ADOT fulfilled its commitment to complete SR 87 improvements before the Memorial Day weekend and in time for the busy tourism season in the Rim Country. The $11.8 million reconstruction and widening project included the addition of a third southbound lane to enhance safety and traffic flow along the uphill stretch during drives between Payson and the Phoenix area. The improvements were the latest in a series of projects during the last two decades to enhance travel on SR 87, which is now a divided four-lane highway between Mesa and Payson.

US 93 Widening Project

Shortly after ADOT completed a $71.3 million widening project on the US 93 approach to the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge in 2010, the first Desert Bighorn Sheep were spotted in February using one of the three wildlife crossings that were constructed to protect motorists and provide a safe crossing for the native animals. The project earned ADOT several honors this year, including the Arizona Chapter American Public Works Association Award, 2011 Public Works Project of the Year and FHWA’s 2011 Exemplary Ecosystem Initiative Award for the agency’s creative and innovative solution to balance motorists’ safety, while protecting wildlife and connecting ecosystems.

Hassayampa River Bridge Project

Just in time for the Fourth of July weekend, ADOT completed a $3.9 million bridge project over the Hassayampa River on I-10, approximately 40 miles west of downtown Phoenix. This area is a major route for travelers heading to and from California along I-10.

Overnight Bridge Demolition

On a late April night in southern Arizona, ADOT tore down two bridges in 10 hours – no small task. ADOT had already planned to remove the old Marsh Station bridge, which required a 67-mile overnight detour for motorists on I-10 east of Tucson. About three weeks before the demolition was set to occur, two semi trucks collided under the overpass at the Mescal Road/J-Six Ranch Road bridge. The bridge was badly damaged from the resulting fire and would have to be replaced.

Planning and Programming:

Long Range Transportation Plan

For more than two years, ADOT worked toward developing the state’s Long-Range Transportation Plan, a blueprint that looks 25 years into the future to determine how to plan for and fund transportation projects that keep up with Arizona’s needs. The State Transportation Board formally approved the Long Range Transportation Plan, also known as What Moves You Arizona, in November, allowing ADOT planners to move ahead with their work to develop a transportation system that will carry Arizona into the future. The award-winning program was nationally recognized for planning and involving the public.

Intercity Rail Study

In October, ADOT kicked off the public outreach phase of its intercity rail study. The study’s goal is to identify if there is a need for intercity rail along I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson. Over the course of a month, ADOT gathered information, data and comments. The agency will provide its findings to the public and to policymakers, so they can make an informed decision about how to move forward. ADOT is looking at all options, which include rail, transit—and the option to build nothing at all. The study will be complete in 2013.

Bicycle Safety Action Plan

As part of our public safety plan, ADOT is developing a Bicycle Safety Action Plan to help keep cyclists safe on Arizona’s highways. The goal is to reduce the number of bicycle crashes with motor vehicles and improve safety for both cyclists and drivers.  The goal of the Bicycle Safety Action Plan is to reduce the total number of bicycle crashes on Arizona highways by 12 percent by 2018.

Safe Routes to School

This year, nearly $3.5 million in grant funding was distributed by ADOT for 21 Safe Routes to School projects for schools and communities statewide. Eight of these projects, totaling $2.8 million, were designated for infrastructure improvements, such as the construction of sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes, signage and striping. An additional 13 projects, totaling $720,000, went toward non-infrastructure elements, such as providing bike helmets to students, safety education and law enforcement. All Safe Routes to School projects are designed to get kids walking or biking and adopt healthy habits.

Motor Vehicle Division and Enforcement and Compliance Division:

Motor Vehicle Division

MVD continued to improve the quality of customer service at MVD offices by shortening the wait times for the more common motor vehicle and driver license transactions, while serving over 3.5 million customers at MVD’s 54 offices or satellite/specialized offices in 2011 The average wait time per transaction was approximately 19 minutes, compared to over 45 minutes just five years ago. Throughout the year, MVD also provided transaction assistance to returning soldiers with the U.S. Army Intelligence Command at Fort Huachuca in southern Arizona. ADOT also launched several new specialty license plates, including the long-awaited Arizona Centennial plate.

Enforcement and Compliance Division

ADOT officers conducted Operation Bullhead, joint-agency commercial vehicle enforcement operation in Mohave County at the request of Bullhead City officials. ADOT officers recovered stolen vehicles identified during inspections. The enforcement division also created a Single Trip Overweight International Border Permit program for produce transporters out of Mexico and assisted local law enforcement with scrap metal yard investigations.

Other Accomplishments:

Grand Canyon National Park Airport

In June, the Grand Canyon National Park Airport, owned and operated by ADOT, began daily 737 airline service from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Travelers can now book a flight on Vision Airlines out of Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. The new service is the first step in a larger vision to make it easier for all tourists to visit the canyon. The Transportation Security Administration was also stationed at the airport this year, making it easier for airline companies to fly into the airport, since they no longer have to provide their own passenger screening.

A new school year is in full swing and now is the time for Arizona educators to take advantage of the $5 million in grants available from Safe Routes to School!

Safe Routes to School is a federally funded program that’s administered in Arizona by ADOT. Grant money is annually distributed to schools, districts, tribal communities, municipalities and nonprofit agencies that successfully outline projects designed to help remove the barriers preventing students from safely and conveniently walking or biking to school (You can read more about the program in our June blog post).

Grants are awarded for things like bike racks, crossing signals and even traffic circles and speed humps. Non-infrastructure projects are eligible, too. Just take a look at the video above for some inspiration!

“The goals of the Arizona Safe Routes to School program are to get the funding in the hands of people who want to do good things like this, who care about their kids’ health, who want to get their kids out and give them extra opportunities for physical activity. Because nationwide health statistics are showing that children are obese,” said ADOT’s Safe Routes to School program coordinator Brian Fellows in the video above.

ADOT is currently accepting applications for its latest cycle of federal grants to implement Safe Routes to School programs in schools and communities around the state. The applications for this cycle must be submitted by Dec. 30.

In addition to the $5 million in federal grants that are available through ADOT’s Safe Routes to School program, the National Center for Safe Routes to School is now accepting applications for 25 mini-grants of $1,000 each. Mini-grants fund activities that range from the nuts and bolts that help start or sustain a Safe Routes to School program to new ideas that enable and encourage children to safely walk and bike to school. Applications for the mini-grants are due Oct. 19.

On Wednesday we told you about ADOT’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Program, today we want to direct your attention to efforts being made in creating a U.S. Bicycle Route System.

ADOT will play a role in determining some specific routes in the U.S. Bicycle Route System. A partnership between state DOTs, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and Adventure Cycling Association, the system is a proposed national network of bicycle routes that span multiple states.

According to ADOT’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator Michael Sanders, three Arizona corridors have been defined. It’s up to ADOT to determine specific routes along these corridors to best accommodate long-distance cyclists. Those routes will include cities and towns and will require some coordination.

“It will tie into the local street system, so we will have to coordinate efforts (with local governments),” Sanders said. “We’ll be working with all those other entities, plus other states.”

Sanders and Richard Moeur, an ADOT traffic design manager and chair of the AASHTO Task Force on U.S. Bicycle Routes, recently met with Ginny Sullivan, USBRS coordinator at Adventure Cycling, for a tour of some potential routes.