If you drove by Interstate 10 in far east Tucson on a recent Monday night, you couldn’t have overlooked a massive boom pumping concrete onto the new Houghton Road overpass.

But we wanted to share something you couldn’t have seen while zipping through the area: A little father-daughter bonding at what was dad’s office that night.

Meet Jeremy Moore, the Assistant District Engineer for ADOT’s Southcentral District, and his 11-year-old daughter, Kailey (both featured in the video and photo on this page!). 

Moore oversees the interchange reconstruction project and figured this busy work site was a perfect place for his daughter, who is eyeing a career in some kind of engineering or architecture. Kailey loves structures, so what could be better than watching part of a 12-hour, overnight operation to pour 1,000 cubic yards of concrete that now form the bridge’s future driving surface.

Kailey is a sixth grader at St. Joseph Catholic School in Tucson who has a passion for Taekwondo – she’s a second-degree black belt – and loves engineering, technology, science and math.

Thankfully for Kailey, there was a lot of math to soak in!

Her father shares a few interesting numbers on all that concrete. It’s:

• 1,626 tons
• 803 cubic yards
• held together with 123 tons of reinforcing steel
• forming a structure that’s 245 feet long, 125 feet wide and 8.5 inches thick

If Kailey ever decides to build something like a bridge, she got the perfect lesson under the stars that Monday night.

As to the project and what it means to drivers, this concrete pour represents a milestone. The entire bridge deck was poured in just one night, which means crews can plan for shifting traffic onto that new structure later this summer. That in turn allows us to demolish the old two-lane Houghton Road bridge and complete the ramps on the east side of the interchange.

And a few more numbers to finish with: The $24.4 million project is expected to be complete in about 7 months – at the end of 2021. Expect some nighttime and weekend lane restrictions, which could lead to delays of about 15 minutes.

We're a pretty diverse lot here at ADOT, but collectively as an agency we do love bridges and great photography. And a little bit of 1950s B-movies, which is maybe why we glommed on to this particular shot.

As you probably sussed at a glance that's the Hoover Dam in the background, demarcating the state line between Arizona and Nevada. But up there above it looks like the handiwork of the largest spider ever, with long strands branching out from anchor points to support the bottom of a magnificent arch. We almost have the screenplay written in our heads: A spider is mutated from (insert your favorite reason here), grows to monsterous proportions and terrorizes Las Vegas. The climax will be a battle at the spider's lair spanning the Colorado River. The movie poster's tagline will be "To IT, we are all bugs!" 

Okay, so those are just silly flights of fancy. In reality this is obviously part-way through construction of the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which created a bypass so US 93 traffic no longer had to go over the dam. Construction of the actual bridge (which is 900 feet above the river!) ran between 2005 and 2010, and when completed was the highest and longest arch concrete bridge in the Western hemisphere. 

Another fun fact – due to how hot it gets in that particular spot, concrete had to be poured from mid-air at night and then cooled with tubes full of liquid nitrogen. That also potentially explains why we were able to capture this shot of crews working on the bridge this particular night. 

Just something to think about the next time you drive to or from Las Vegas. 

Now, if you'll excuse us, we are going to pitch our monster movie idea to Hollywood.

How do we love Interstate 40? Let us count the ways. 

1...2...275 million!

That’s how many dollars ADOT has invested in the I-40 corridor over the last five years. From minor bridge repairs to complete bridge replacements and small pavement patch jobs to miles-long pavement replacement projects, we see the value I-40 brings not only to Arizona but the rest of the country.

Since 2016, ADOT has replaced pavement on about 90 miles of I-40 and repaired, upgraded or replaced 35 bridges along I-40. 

The agency utilizes innovative techniques to cut I-40 bridge replacements by months like the bridge slide method or a process known as a geosynthetic reinforced soil-integrated bridge system to rebuild bridges, creating new abutments that integrate into the roadway with a reinforced soil foundation.

We’ve replaced dozens of bridge decks and even rebuilt 5 miles of I-40 in each direction near Williams.

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.

And most importantly, we’re not done! Work along the I-40 corridor continues today. Crews are replacing pavement along 10 miles of I-40 from I-17 to Walnut Canyon Road. ADOT is also currently improving 16 bridges spread out along the interstate from California to New Mexico.

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.

There's something beautiful about building a bridge. Whether it's the satisfying geometry of a bridge's lines and shapes or the sheer immensity of its size, the various construction stages are a sight to see. 

And when it comes to the new Pinto Creek Bridge on US 60, you have the added appeal of stunning desert scenery and staggering slopes set against an Arizona blue sky. You can see for yourself in this spectacular slideshow captured by a talented ADOT photographer. 

Motorists traveling along US 60 between Superior and Globe recently might have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a sky-high crane hoisting 35 massive girders into place.  

This was not a trifling matter. These girders weigh between 450,000 and 70,000 pounds. That's between 25 and 35 tons. And they range in length from 91 to 127 feet. 

The new bridge will be 695.5 feet length and supported by three piers rising from a canyon floor. It is being built adjacent to the old one, which was erected in 1949 and will be removed. Despite multiple life-extending projects, the 72-year-old span is still safe for motorists but nearing the end of its usefulness. 

The next US 60 closures are expected to take place overnight when crews pour bridge-deck concrete in mid-summer. A five-day closure will be scheduled when the bridge is nearing completion toward the end of the summer. 

You can sign up to receive traffic alerts relating to the bridge's construction at the project's page on our website or using this electronic signup sheet here. And you can always check az511.gov to find up-to-date information on construction or other restrictions.

During scheduled closures of US 60, motorists will be detoured to State Route 77 and State Route 177. This detour could add as many as 45 minutes to a trip, however, travel time may be significantly longer depending on the driver's starting point and destination.

Angeline Hoagland would be amazed.

After all, she was but a toddler when she died near the Old Black Canyon Highway in 1889. But stories of her death – and reports of her “ghost” – are alive and kicking today.

Perhaps that’s because travelers can see her lonely grave from the Old Black Canyon Highway as they cross Lynx Creek east of Prescott.

Maybe it’s because Arizona poet laureate and territorial historian, Sharlot Hall (1870-1943), wrote a poem dedicated to the little girl.

Or it could be that Angeline’s death, at the tender age of 2, deeply touched the gold miners, settlers and cowboys of the time, and the tale spread and became part of local lore. 

The story begins in the mid-1880s, long before the old Lynx Creek Bridge was erected in 1922. David Hoagland and his wife, Catherine Stewart Magee Hoagland, left their Texas roots and put down stakes on the banks of Lynx Creek, perhaps drawn like many by the discovery of gold in the creek.

Their daughter, Angeline, was born in 1886, and passed away on Jan. 15, 1889 2 years, 3 months and 15 days later, according to her headstone.

She was buried not in a cemetery, but along the creek near Old Black Canyon Highway. We recently published a blog about this historic stretch of highway.

The cause of the little girl’s death is in dispute. Was she killed by a bobcat or coyote? Did she drown in the the creek? Did she freeze during the blizzard that was blowing at the time?

Prevailing wisdom says she died of illness.

"The cause of death has been the subject of speculation and folklore, although the family’s descendants say she took ill and died, as many children did during this difficult era," the Sharlot Hall Museum of Prescott says on its website.

It was much later that a headstone, engraved with Hall’s poem, was placed on her grave. The poem is at the base and reads:

Here lies our baby Angeline
For which we weep and do repine.
She was all our joy and all our pride
Until the day our baby died.
We hope in heaven again to meet
And then our joy will be complete.
But until our Maker calls us there
We trust her to His righteous care.

Over the 132 years since Angeline died, reports have circulated that her restless spirit still wanders the banks of Lynx Creek. More than one passerby has claimed to have seen her eerie, luminescent presence by the grave.

According to Alan Brown, author of “Haunted Southwest,” some witnesses have reported seeing the spectral figure of a small child standing on the grave. Others say the ground will shake if anyone dares stand inside the iron fence around the grave. College students are said to have camped out by the grave in hopes of catching a glimpse of the supernatural spectre.

But there is an explanation, and it's based on science, according to Brown. The stone from which Angeline's tombstone was carved is of a luminous variety, that when stuck by car headlights, glows brightly.

Unfortunately, the tombstone and poetic epitaph became a target of vandals. The Sharlot Hall Museum of Prescott removed it at some point and stored it for safekeeping before replacing it on Jan. 15, 1993 – exactly 104 years after Angeline died.

Remains of other Hoagland family members are buried in the Citizen’s Cemetery on Sheldon Street in Prescott. It is largely accepted today that the ghost stories probably originated because Angeline’s tombstone is made from a luminous rock. Therefore, if your car headlights hit the rock, it glows brightly! Unfortunately, the tombstone and poetic epitaph became a target of vandals. The Sharlot Hall Museum of Prescott removed it and stored it for safekeeping before replacing it on Jan. 15, 1993 -- exactly 104 years after Angeline died. Remains of other Hoagland family members are buried in the Citizen’s Cemetery on Sheldon Street in Prescott. The Prescott Valley Historical Society adopted the gravesite. Angeline’s lone grave is now surrounded by a black iron fence – the one that some say rattles if you get too close. Prescott Valley Historical Society adopted the gravesite.

Angeline’s lone grave is now surrounded by a black iron fence – the one that some say rattles if you get too close.

A bridge is often an awesome sight to behold: Thick pillars, massive abutments, maybe lots of shiny steel tubing soaring into the sky above a canyon. Or, it could be as simple as a concrete structure crossing a small wash (like the Lowell Arch Bridge near Bisbee).

You may have wondered, if you've passed by or driven on one recently: How did this thing get designed and built?

Wonder no more: Bill Downes, an ADOT design engineer, is here to help explain the process. He says a bridge design engineer must consider three very important points:

1. Geometry: "How long does the bridge need to be, what does it go over and how high is it," said Downes. "The bridge must be high enough to allow traffic or flood water to pass under it."
2. The number of spans: "Essentially how many piers will be needed. Where can piers be placed is also a major factor in this decision. You cannot place piers in a roadway. Where is the roadway below the bridge, and where will it be in the future?"
3. Traffic: "This is not much of a problem on a new bridge on a new roadway, but it is very important on a bridge replacement. Can the new bridge be built next to the existing bridge and the roadway moved over? Can the road be closed/detoured during construction? Often traffic must continue even while trying to build a new bridge."

In addition to all of these, Downes says, the engineer must also take into account utilities near the proposed site; how and where construction crews will access the site and store their equipment; and whether accelerated bridge construction (ABC) methods can be used.

"Although ABC reduces traffic disruptions, they generally cost more and require special planning," he says.

The topography and soil of the proposed bridge site are also important.

"What type of soil is in the area, and what types of foundations can hold up the bridge. Can shallow foundations like a spread footing be used, or are deep foundations such as drilled shafts required?"

Then comes the review.

"As each item is looked at, it may change the choices made earlier," says Downes. "For example, the ability to ship girders to the worksite may change how many piers you will need to have."

After all the data gathering and review, it's time to start designing!

"This is the point where we start the math to determine how strong each bridge element needs to be," he says.

Although no one can predict future traffic patterns, engineers must allow for that, too.

"Bridges historically were designed to last 50 years," he says. "Generally we now design for a 75-year life and many will be expected to continue to carry traffic for over 100 years with only little maintenance or rehabilitation." 

Once the design is completed and approved, Downes says, plans must be made for contractors; and once a contractor is chosen, the bridge design engineer will need to work with the contractor throughout the construction process.

The most important point of all?

"Although bridges are beautiful things they don’t exist in isolation," Downes says. "Building a bridge cannot be accomplished without a great deal of coordination and work with roadway, geotechnical, traffic, district, right-of-way, utility, environmental, material, drainage and other engineers."

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.

We here at ADOT like the details. 

Our engineers obsess over grades, curves, speeds, traffic volume, materials and geotechnical data, while other employees busy themselves with permits, biological impacts, landscaping, and safety. 

Maybe that's why our ADOT photographers like to find fine-detailed shots like the one below. You'll probably recognize instantly that it's a series of rivets, but will need a bit of help identifying them as those holding together the bridge along the nature trail at Cochise Stronghold, southeast of Dragoon. 

This shot – and the "A325" rivets we see in it – is a good reminder that it's important to pay attention to the details.