Engineering

When ADOT constructs a new road or bridge, you can thank somebody like Patrice Brun for being one of the first engineers to turn over the soil or move the rock.

But Brun isn’t putting down asphalt or building bridge piers. As a geotechnical engineer, his job is to understand the makeup of the earth beneath a future project. With that knowledge, other engineers can then determine the best type of pavement for that location, what efforts are needed to stabilize a slope or how to ensure a bridge will stand up to the forces of Mother Nature.

Depending on the job, ADOT’s team of engineers has different responsibilities and experiences. Delivering the state’s massive highway infrastructure system involves a variety of roles for engineers.

During National Engineers Week, we bring you the story of one ADOT engineer who knows her job is much more than math and measurements.

While the most visible aspect of engineering at ADOT is building, maintaining and operating state highways, there’s a lot of prep work that goes into projects. One area of ADOT that does a lot of preparation work to help keep important highway projects moving on schedule is the Utility and Railroad Engineering section.

It has been said that engineers solve problems you didn’t know you had in ways you don’t understand.

More than 60 years ago, Frances Walker became the first female engineer with the Arizona Highway Department. Here is what highway engineering looked like back then.

Beyond his work as a civil engineer with ADOT's operation serving northeastern Arizona, Kee Yazzie was a key contact with Native American communities.

A visit to the ADOT Materials Lab in Phoenix demonstrated how what taught in science, technology, engineering and mathematics helps those who build and maintain state highways.

Those selected for the program delve into a variety of disciplines, helping each find the niche reflecting their passions and skills.

Value engineering used by ADOT and its contractors is designed to deliver superior final products in less time without additional cost.

We're taking you back to the beginnings of the Engineer-in-Training program.

We're looking back at the blogs that showcase engineering for National Engineers Week.

Materials engineers evaluate everything from the rocks that go into cement to the reflective beads used in paints that stripe roadways to the bolts that help hold bridges together.

Traffic engineers explain how they keep vehicles moving and the new technology that is ahead.

It's National Engineers Week and those of us at ADOT are celebrating!

Engineers are kind of a big deal here at ADOT.

Saying that engineers are an important part of ADOT is really kind of an understatement.

We're celebrating Engineers Week by looking back at some of our previous engineering-focused blog posts.

We draw them, we review them and we use them during construction, because they tell us what to do. Roadway plans are common around ADOT, but maybe you’ve never seen them for yourself.

According to one dictionary’s definition, engineering is “the art or science of making practical application of the knowledge of pure sciences, as physics or chemistry, as in the construction of engines, bridges, buildings, mines, ships and chemical plants.” Sure, it’s an accurate description, but do you get any real sense of what an engineer does from reading that?