PHOENIX – An Arizona Department of Transportation project that replaced the US 60 Pinto Creek Bridge between the East Valley and Globe has received a regional honor. 

The 2023 America’s Transportation Awards named the effort Best Use of Technology and Innovation, Medium Project, for the Western region. The competition is sponsored by AASHTO, an association representing highway and transportation departments nationwide, as well as AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 

“We’re grateful to see the Pinto Creek Bridge replacement honored among projects throughout the West, but we’re even prouder of what this improvement has accomplished for those who rely on this critical route for passenger and commercial traffic,” said Greg Byres, ADOT State Engineer and Deputy Director for Transportation. “ADOT engineers and the contractor used innovative design and construction approaches to create a safer and more reliable US 60 for decades to come.”

Completed in 2022, the $25.3 million project built the new bridge next to the one it replaced, with traffic continuing to use the old bridge until the new bridge opened. 

Among other innovative approaches used:

• ADOT used a bid-alternative method for design, which allowed the contractor to determine economical and supportive foundation systems for each of the bridge’s three piers while taking into account the mountainous terrain.

• To create retaining wall structures up to 30 feet high, ADOT engineers developed design standards and specifications for a micro-pile foundation system using high-strength, small-diameter steel rods.

• A temporary access road was built to the floor of the steep canyon to provide access for heavy equipment, including a 400-ton crane that placed girders atop the piers, the tallest of which is 138 feet. 

• ADOT partnered with Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix to temporarily remove and then return hedgehog cactuses unique to the project site.

You can view photos of the completed bridge at flic.kr/s/aHBqjzWgRb. Carrying two lanes of traffic, the bridge is 695.5 feet long, has 10-foot-wide shoulders and can carry heavier loads than its predecessor, which was 72 years old.

The award was presented last week at the annual meeting of WASHTO, which represents departments of transportation in the West. 

WILLCOX – Arizona’s interstate freeways are essential corridors for personal and commercial travel. When an incident forces an extended closure, the Arizona Department of Transportation responds quickly to reopen the thoroughfare as soon as possible with safety the No. 1 goal. 

That’s what happened after a fatal semi-tractor trailer crash early Wednesday caused significant damage to the support structure of the US 191 bridge over westbound Interstate 10 just west of Willcox. Less than two days later, an ADOT project reopened the westbound lanes with a temporary support of steel members.

“I am proud of our ADOT team members and dedicated contractors who quickly identified and executed this emergency project,” ADOT Director Jennifer Toth said. “They safely set up detours, got the necessary team in place and worked around the clock to reopen this key corridor in less than two days.” 

Approved by ADOT’s Bridge Group, supervised by engineers in ADOT’s Southeast District and made possible by an emergency procurement, the project engaged Granite Construction Inc. as the prime contractor. Mere hours after the Arizona Department of Public Safety had completed its crash investigation, ADOT and the contractor began working nonstop to demolish the damaged bridge pier and erect the temporary support structure.

What the public can’t see when passing this temporary structure is the intensity of effort, the dedication and the commitment to safety that made it possible. 

A welder who was on site for nearly the entirety of the project told our engineers that he is 80 years old but still at it for his son’s company, which was a subcontractor. “I’ve retired six times but love what I do,” he said. 

Also generously assisting in this monumental effort were state, county and local law enforcement agencies that worked along the detour routes and southeastern Arizona counties and municipalities. The New Mexico Department of Transportation assisted with closing westbound I-10 in New Mexico. 

Now that a temporary structure is in place at the US 191 bridge at I-10 milepost 331, ADOT will determine a long-term plan. At a minimum, the pier, girders and deck where the crash occurred will likely need to be replaced.

There is never a good time for an extended closure, especially one that involves a lengthy detour from such a busy freeway. When it does happen, ADOT team members respond quickly and work as hard as possible with safety as their overriding goal. 

CAMP VERDE  – The Arizona Department of Transportation will begin a project this spring in Yavapai County to replace the bridge deck on State Route 169 over Interstate 17.

The $6.2 million project is scheduled to start Monday, April 24, and extend through fall 2023. The work includes replacing the SR 169 bridge deck, which is the top surface of the structure motorists drive on. As part of the project, crews will also build a new concrete bridge deck, repair erosion at the bridge abutments and replace some sections of guardrail.

Motorists should expect SR 169 to be reduced to one lane only for east- and westbound travel during construction, with a temporary traffic signal regulating traffic. To reduce delays, work crews will limit other traffic restrictions to overnight hours. 

The work also requires overnight restrictions on Interstate 17 the nights of April 24 and April 25 while work crews demolish and remove the bridge deck. Southbound I-17 will be rerouted to the freeway ramps the evening of April 24. Northbound I-17 will be rerouted onto freeway ramps the evening of April 25.

For more information, please visit the project page.