Bridges

I-40 has seen $275 million in improvements over last five years

I-40 has seen $275 million in improvements over last five years

I-17 101 traffic interchange

I-40 has seen $275 million in improvements over last five years

I-40 has seen $275 million in improvements over last five years

May 6, 2021

PHOENIX – Recognizing the importance of Interstate 40 for commercial trucks and travelers, the Arizona Department of Transportation has invested $275.2 million in bridge improvements, pavement projects and other safety-related projects along the 360-mile corridor over the past five years.

Since 2016, ADOT has replaced pavement on about 90 miles of I-40, which includes rebuilding 5 miles of the interstate in each direction near Williams, and repaired, upgraded or replaced 35 bridges along the corridor. 

“We know the value I-40 brings to Arizona as well as the rest of the country, and making sure this vital roadway continues to be safe for all motorists is our first priority” said Dallas Hammit, ADOT’s deputy director for transportation. “That’s why we continually invest in extending the life of bridges along the corridor and replacing pavement that gets damaged over years of heavy traffic use and winter weather exposure.”

Many of the repaved sections of I-40 have been in the higher elevation areas between Flagstaff and Williams that have seen a lot of damage due to winter weather. The Kingman area has seen about 30 miles of I-40 repaved through various projects.

Work along the I-40 corridor continues today. ADOT is currently replacing pavement along 10 miles of I-40 from I-17 to Walnut Canyon Road and improving 16 more bridges spread out along the interstate from California to New Mexico. Pavement maintenance work continues along the interstate as well.

Over the past few years, several bridges along I-40 have had significant upgrades or been outright replaced using innovative construction methods that save either time or money or both. The bridge slide method of “sliding” a new bridge into place of an old one using hydraulic jacks has been used to replace the Fourth Street bridge in Flagstaff and the Bellemont bridges west of Flagstaff. 

The agency also used a fast, cost-effective process to rebuild the bridges on I-40 at Meteor City Road, creating new abutments that integrate into the roadway with a reinforced soil foundation. Both methods cut construction time by months.

Other significant bridge improvements include replacing the I-40 bridge decks at the interchange with I-17 in Flagstaff. 

Bridges and road surfaces aren’t the only things to be improved over the last five years. In continuing to support commerce, ADOT has made improvements to rest areas along I-40 including Haviland Rest Area west of Kingman and Painted Cliffs Rest Area near the New Mexico state line. Improvements are currently underway at Meteor Crater Rest Area. 

Truck parking was also permanently expanded by nearly 100 spaces at the Haviland and Meteor Crater rest areas last year.

Looking toward the future, ADOT is in the process of planning a new traffic interchange between I-40 and US 93 in west Kingman as well as more pavement replacement projects west of Ash Fork.

For more information, visit azdot.gov.

ADOT replacing deck of Post Office Canyon Bridge on SR 73 near Whiteriver

ADOT replacing deck of Post Office Canyon Bridge on SR 73 near Whiteriver

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT replacing deck of Post Office Canyon Bridge on SR 73 near Whiteriver

ADOT replacing deck of Post Office Canyon Bridge on SR 73 near Whiteriver

May 3, 2021

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is replacing the bridge deck of the Post Office Canyon Bridge along SR 73 near the community of Whiteriver in order to extend the life of the bridge.

While crews are working on safely demolishing and replacing the existing bridge decks, traffic near the bridge will continue to be restricted to one lane of alternating north- and southbound travel from mileposts 348 to 349. These restrictions will remain in place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week through the end of the summer.

A temporary traffic signal is in place to help drivers move through the work zone. Drivers should budget extra travel time to get through the area.

The work also includes reconstructing the approaches between the highway and the bridge for a more smooth transition and replacing guardrails.

State Route 189 work enters the home stretch

State Route 189 work enters the home stretch

SR24-1

State Route 189 work enters the home stretch

State Route 189 work enters the home stretch

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications
April 22, 2021

As March turned into April, Arizona Department of Transportation crews working near the international border in Nogales celebrated the first anniversary of work on State Route 189 the way only roadbuilders can: Moving the last of a combined 8.5 million pounds of concrete-and-steel girders into place.

Last March, Governor Doug Ducey, along with government and business leaders from southern Arizona, broke ground on a project that is expected to create economic growth in Santa Cruz County while making one of Nogales’ busiest roads safer and less congested. 

ADOT is building two ramps connecting SR 189 with Interstate 19. When the work is complete this fall, the ramps will make Nogales a more attractive place for international commerce to enter the US. That’s significant; the Mariposa Port of Entry saw about $25.5 billion in imports and exports in 2019, including much of the winter produce consumed in the U.S.

They’ll also save trucking companies time and money by eliminating the need to stop at three traffic signals, and they’ll make SR 189 safer for Nogales High School students who will no longer have to navigate around those trucks to get to school.

The ramps provide an impressive site for southbound drivers on I-19. The northbound ramp runs for just more than half a mile, while the southbound ramp is just more than one-third of a mile long. They come together just west of Frank Reed Road. The ramps include 122 girders, each averaging about 70,000 pounds and 135 feet long.

Between now and when the work is complete, crews will be pouring concrete decks on the ramps, finishing a new roundabout at Target Range Road and completing the remaining tasks to make SR 189 better for Nogales, better for international trucking and better for Arizona’s economy.

“Better roads,” Governor Ducey said at last year’s groundbreaking, “mean a better future for Arizona.” 

In Nogales, that better future is just a few months away.

You can still drive over this important bridge near Bisbee

You can still drive over this important bridge near Bisbee

SR24-1

You can still drive over this important bridge near Bisbee

You can still drive over this important bridge near Bisbee

By Kathy Cline / ADOT Communications
March 19, 2021

It might not look like much, but the Lowell Arch Bridge is a very important piece of Arizona's highway history.

In 1910, the Arizona Territorial Engineer's office completed the design and survey for the Bisbee-Douglas Highway, a 22.7-mile highway between ... well, the name says it all. This road was a vital link between the copper mines of Bisbee and the Phelps-Dodge smelter in Douglas. Indeed, it was the most expensive road project the Arizona Territorial Assembly had ever approved, costing nearly $78,000 at the time.

And the most important crossing on the highway was the Lowell Arch Bridge, a 60-foot-span, 16-foot-wide roadway over Mule Gulch, about six miles east of Bisbee. The contract for the bridge and that section of highway was awarded in October 1910 to the company R. Toohey and Sons out of Phoenix. The firm completed the work in December 1911, producing a bridge that featured more than 156 cubic yards of concrete, with an elliptical arch made from reinforced concrete abutments and guardrails.

 

Lowell_Arch_Bridge_1

 

In coming decades the Bisbee-Douglas Highway would become part of US 80, the important southern cross-country route that ran between Savannah, Georgia and San Diego. Though US 80 itself would be decommissioned in the late 1980s, this section still remains part of the state highway system as State Route 80.

The only alterations made to the Lowell Arch bridge since its original construction came in 1934, with the widening project on US 80. The work, completed for just under $36,000 widened the bridge considerably, as well as extending the abutments and wingwalls. Since then, the bridge continues to carry traffic on SR 80 with no further alterations.

The Lowell Arch Bridge not only played a very important role in Arizona's copper-mining industry, it was one of just two concrete arch bridges built by the Territorial Engineer (the other, in Tempe, is gone). And, unlike some other historical bridges we've featured on this blog, its still one that you can drive across today as part of a state highway.

If that isn't excuse enough to drive between Bisbee and Douglas, we don't know what is. 

ADOT replacing I-40 bridges over Business 40 in west Flagstaff

ADOT replacing I-40 bridges over Business 40 in west Flagstaff

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT replacing I-40 bridges over Business 40 in west Flagstaff

ADOT replacing I-40 bridges over Business 40 in west Flagstaff

March 9, 2021

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is starting a project to replace the Interstate 40 bridges over Business 40, which connects the interstate to Historic Route 66 in west Flagstaff. 

The project, which is approximately 3 miles west of the junction with Interstate 17, will replace the east- and westbound bridges on I-40 in their entirety. This will require closures of the eastbound on- and off-ramps, as well as the crossroad under the bridges, beginning Monday, March 15, and continuing through October. Traffic will be detoured to Flagstaff Ranch Road to access I-40.

“This project continues our work to replace and rehabilitate I-40 bridges in the Flagstaff area,” said Audra Merrick, district engineer for the Northcentral District. “Through this work, we can extend the lives of these bridges and keep commerce flowing along this vital corridor.”

Throughout construction, a minimum of one lane of traffic in each direction will be maintained. The project is anticipated to be completed by fall 2022.

Over the last few years, ADOT has replaced or rehabilitated a few I-40 bridges in the Flagstaff area, including the I-40 bridges over Beulah Boulevard and over I-17 as well as the Fourth Street bridge in east Flagstaff. Work to replace the Rio de Flag Bridge on Business 40 in Flagstaff is currently under construction.

ADOT has also replaced the Bellemont bridges at I-40 and Hughes Avenue, formerly Transwestern Road, west of Flagstaff and the bridges on I-40 at Meteor City Road, east of Flagstaff.

For more information, visit azdot.gov/projects and click on the Northcentral District.

Second half kickoff for construction of new I-17 bridge at Central Avenue

Second half kickoff for construction of new I-17 bridge at Central Avenue

SR24-1

Second half kickoff for construction of new I-17 bridge at Central Avenue

Second half kickoff for construction of new I-17 bridge at Central Avenue

By Doug Nintzel / ADOT Communications
March 2, 2021

When it’s halftime in a football game, the teams can use the break to go over strategy for the second half action. But on ADOT’s project to reconstruct the Interstate 17 bridge over Central Avenue, crews didn’t get much of a break before their own second half got underway.

Of course, the strategy was already known. The project team is using “construction in stages” to build the new steel-girder freeway bridge, which will be wider and provide additional clearance for Central Avenue traffic traveling under it. 

The project’s “first half” included a temporary switch of all I-17 traffic onto the existing northbound side of the bridge so crews could tear down the southbound half and build a new span in its place. That work wrapped up in February, allowing crews to use the weekend of Feb. 20-21 to switch freeway traffic to that new southbound span (with two lanes in each direction).

Just one week later (this past weekend of Feb. 27-28), it was time to demolish the old northbound structure. That feat was accomplished with heavy equipment that pounded away and pulled at the girders, the concrete and other material in time to reopen Central Avenue for Monday morning travel.

Now the project team will start the march toward the goal line. They will build the new northbound half of the I-17 bridge south of the downtown Phoenix area. Completion is scheduled for this fall. At that time northbound traffic will be switched to its rightful place with more room to operate.

The I-17 bridge will be wider to accommodate regional plans to add more lanes in the future, including auxiliary lanes (also known as merge lanes) between interchanges along the freeway in that area, including Seventh Street and Seventh Avenue.

The improved bridge also will provide more clearance for Central Avenue, not just for larger commercial trucks but also for Valley Metro’s light rail line that also will be passing under I-17.

So I’ll raise my sports drink bottle to the crews on the I-17 bridge project and wish them good luck in the second half. Here’s hoping they give us a game winning drive. Pardon the pun.

Access to Virgin River closed while I-15 Bridge No. 1 is reconstructed

Access to Virgin River closed while I-15 Bridge No. 1 is reconstructed

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Access to Virgin River closed while I-15 Bridge No. 1 is reconstructed

Access to Virgin River closed while I-15 Bridge No. 1 is reconstructed

March 1, 2021

PHOENIX – While work is underway to reconstruct Bridge No. 1 along Interstate 15, access to the Virgin River that passes under the bridge will be closed for public safety beginning March 8. 

The Arizona Department of Transportation will be replacing the abutment foundations of the bridge as part of the project. With heavy equipment and work taking place beneath the bridge, the public will not be able to access or utilize the river or adjacent lands at this location during the construction project.

Access to the river for activities including kayaking, boating, swimming, sightseeing and other water recreational activities, will be closed off.

The closure is expected to last until May 2023.

Also, in the interest of public health and safety, crews will permanently remove the man made pool known as “Little Jamaica” in the I-15 right-of-way under Bridge No. 1. As was noted during public involvement for the bridge-replacement project, this site frequently has trash, human waste and other types of waste and lacks water-quality monitoring. It also poses a threat to endangered species and vegetation in the vicinity.

With its location within the ADOT right-of-way and the potential health hazards, crews will remove the sandbags that helped create the pool and allow the spring to return to its natural path. Fencing will be placed around the spring to prevent future diversions.

Work on the $56 million project includes replacing the abutment foundations, piers and the bridge deck of Bridge No. 1. New pavement, pavement markings, guardrail and signage are also included in the project. 

For more information, please visit azdot.gov/projects.

ADOT to replace Virgin River Bridge No. 1 along I-15 near Littlefield

ADOT to replace Virgin River Bridge No. 1 along I-15 near Littlefield

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT to replace Virgin River Bridge No. 1 along I-15 near Littlefield

ADOT to replace Virgin River Bridge No. 1 along I-15 near Littlefield

February 3, 2021

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is set to begin work on replacing Virgin River Bridge No. 1 along Interstate 15 with a brand new bridge that will increase safety and help the corridor to continue carrying commerce for decades to come.

Work on the $56 million project is set to begin Monday, Feb. 8. At first, most of the work will occur below the bridge. Later this year, drivers can expect traffic shifts as the bridge is rebuilt first along the northbound lanes and then the southbound lanes. One lane of traffic in each direction will be maintained throughout the project.

Work will include replacing the abutment foundations, piers and the bridge deck of Bridge No. 1. New pavement, pavement markings, guardrail and signage are also included in the project.

“We continue to make progress rehabilitating the I-15 bridges through the Virgin River Gorge,” said Audra Merrick, district engineer for ADOT’s Northcentral District. “This latest project will extend the life of the bridge and help commerce to continue flowing through this region.”

Work is anticipated to be completed by spring of 2024.

Dating back to early 2014, ADOT has conducted a series of rehabilitation projects on the I-15 Virgin River bridges from minor repairs and resurfacing of bridge decks on Bridge No. 2, Bridge No. 3 and Bridge No. 7, to an extensive rehabilitation of Bridge No. 6 that was completed in 2016. 

Last summer, ADOT completed repairs and deck rehabilitation to Bridge No. 2, Bridge No. 4 and Bridge No. 5.

Arizona’s 29-mile-long portion of I-15 directly connects Nevada and Utah and is a heavily-traveled commercial and economic corridor linking southern California with the Rocky Mountain region.

For more information, visit azdot.gov/projects.

In Tucson, a wider Houghton Road bridge starts coming into view

In Tucson, a wider Houghton Road bridge starts coming into view

SR24-1

In Tucson, a wider Houghton Road bridge starts coming into view

In Tucson, a wider Houghton Road bridge starts coming into view

By Garin Groff / ADOT Communications
January 25, 2021

We’ve been sharing plans for a new and much wider Houghton Road bridge at Interstate 10 in Tucson for some time now, but we know it may have been hard to picture exactly what we’ve been talking about.

No more. Take a look at this aerial shot and you can see the new bridge is wide - even wider than the interstate below.

This photo from early January shows only the girders of the new bridge, as it doesn’t have the concrete deck on top of it yet. Once the deck is completed later this year, it will accommodate six lanes of traffic rather than the two lanes on the existing structure. It’s all part of a $24.4 million interchange replacement project to improve safety and traffic flow in this rapidly growing area southeast of downtown Tucson.

You probably also spotted that the photo shows sections of concrete that will form the new ramps. They’re being built in stages, so drivers should expect periodic changes as traffic is gradually shifted onto larger sections of the new ramps through the rest of 2021. Through the rest of the project, occasional nighttime closures are possible on the ramps as well as on Houghton Road.

However, drivers should expect periodic overnight lane restrictions on I-10, including this week. Each weeknight, crews will reroute one direction of I-10 up and over the entrance and exit ramps. The other direction of I-10 will be reduced to a single lane. Houghton Road will remain open, but expect delays of up to 15 minutes. The work is scheduled from 9:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. as crews work on bridge piers and abutments.

Drivers can expect to take advantage of the new bridge and ramps by the end of 2021. 

And a reminder: The Houghton Road interchange will be the first diverging diamond interchange in southern Arizona. To learn more about that kind of interchange or the project as a whole, please visit azdot.gov/i10Houghton.

Bridge girder placement an eye-catching sign of progress in Winkelman

Bridge girder placement an eye-catching sign of progress in Winkelman

SR24-1

Bridge girder placement an eye-catching sign of progress in Winkelman

Bridge girder placement an eye-catching sign of progress in Winkelman

By Garin Groff / ADOT Communications
December 29, 2020

It’s not always clear to drivers why crews need to stop traffic in a work zone, but there was no mistaking what was happening for nine days this month on State Route 77 in Winkelman.

A pair of massive cranes moved huge concrete girders into place over the Gila River as part of a bridge replacement project that began in September 2019, in what was one of the most eye-catching steps of the process.

The 24 girders ranged from about 113 feet long and 80 tons to about 138 feet long and 100 tons. Those girders will form one half of the new structure that spans about 761 feet. The other part of the bridge was completed earlier this year and is now carrying a single lane of alternating traffic until the project is expected to be completed by early summer.

The work zone will remain a busy place through the first half of 2021. Crews will pour the concrete deck above the recently-placed girders by late January. The work will occur at night, and the single lane across the bridge will remain open during that operation.

Through the spring, crews will install concrete barriers, a new and wider pedestrian path, and guardrail. Toward the end of the project, expect pavement work and lane striping at either end of the bridge. A signal will continue to regulate traffic flow and drivers should allow for extra travel time. For more information, to view the schedule or sign up to receive traffic alerts, please visit the project page.