By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

As we review everything that happened this week at ADOT, we have an amazing survival story to share and a busy schedule of construction leading up the Thanksgiving holiday.

Follow the #FridayFive hashtag on social media to see others' top fives for the week.

1. Two ADOT maintenance crew members, Zach Moralez and Josh Miller, along with a rancher and an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper, discovered a woman who had crashed her vehicle down an embankment along US 60 east of Wickenburg. The amazing part of the story is crash happened six days before the woman and her vehicle were found! Our Facebook post shares a link to the entire story.

2. Unless you’ve been under a rock, you probably noticed Halloween was Wednesday. We also took notice and used it as an opportunity to remind drivers to buckle up and drive safely.

Last year on #Halloween, 12 pedestrian-related crashes occurred – that’s more than twice the daily average of pedestrian collisions. Drivers should use extra caution and anticipate seeing pedestrians in unexpected places. More: https://t.co/0LxuwuNAF5 pic.twitter.com/KUG3O1L8op

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) October 31, 2018

3. Did we mention there will be a lot of construction in the coming weeks? Here is a quick rundown of what you can expect on Phoenix freeways in the coming weeks.

• Closures or lane restrictions along I-10 near 59th Avenue for work on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway interchange.
• Bridge inspections are planned at the I-10/I-17 “Stack” interchange near downtown. 
• An ongoing I-10 project near Loop 303 in Goodyear is installing traffic-flow sensors in the pavement as well as electronic message signs above the highway.

4. On Thursday, we shared a vintage photo of a truck driver and commercial vehicle inspector. Check the ADOT Blog on Thursdays because we usually have an interesting photo to share from the ADOT archives.

5. If you’re looking for a way to be a little more green, our Motor Vehicle Division reminded you that old license plates can be recycled. If you buy a vehicle that needs a new plate or are upgrading to a specialty or personalized plate, you can simply recycle your old plate.

By David Woodfill / ADOT Communications

In this week's Friday Five, we got buffeted by a monsoon storm, congratulated an eagle-eyed resident who nailed this week's Where in AZ?? and recounted some harrowing stories from construction workers who built Interstate 15 through the Virgin River Gorge.

Follow the #FridayFive hashtag on social media to see what others are sharing today.

1. We started out the work week with more thunderstorms and blowing dust whipping through the Valley.

As you can see in the photo below, visibility was almost non-existent in some areas, serving as a reminder to always Pull Aside, Stay Alive in blowing dust. Follow the link for more safety tips.

2. On Sunday, our Where in AZ?? feature on Facebook and stumped quite a few folks.

Tom Pifer from Eagar was the first to get it right.

Technically, it's eastbound US 60, but our panel of distinguished judges at ADOT (me) determined that was close enough.

3. On Tuesday, we highlighted some new high-definition freeway cameras in the East Valley to bring more clarity to your commute.

The cameras are on the Loop 101 Pima freeway in Scottsdale, the Loop 101 Price freeway in Tempe and the Red Mountain and Santan portions of Loop 202 in Mesa and Chandler. You can check out the cameras at our Arizona Traveler Information site, az511.gov.

4. On Thursday, we told you some white-knuckle stories from construction of I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge, in a corner of northwestern Arizona near Nevada and Utah.

Those intrepid construction workers battled ice-clogged waters, braved flash floods that threatened with 10-foot walls of water and scaled 100-foot cliffs.

The result is one of the most breath-taking drives on Arizona's state highway system.

5. Finally, on Friday traffic to Jerome slowed down to a snail's pace after a tractor-trailer was unable to negotiate the tricky switchbacks on SR 89A.

It took three hours to get the truck off the road, backing traffic up for miles. Luckily, no one was injured.

By David Woodfill / ADOT Communications

In this #FridayFive, we're talking about skidding cars (on purpose), crazy dust storms, smashed melons and more. Don’t forget to follow the hashtag #FridayFive on social media to see what others are sharing from their week.

1. We're kicking off this week's #FridayFive with smashed melons, as shown above.

I know what some of you must be thinking: "Gallagher was in town and I missed the show?"

Truck Fire

No, the photo was taken five years ago when a truck dumped a load of rotten fruit all over the Deck Park Tunnel in Phoenix.

Read on the ADOT Blog how crews with heavy equipment scooped up the mushy mess, hosed down the highway and dealt with a damaged tunnel wall.

2. Many of our Twitter and Facebook followers responded to traffic camera pictures of Thursday night's truck fire on I-10 in west Phoenix. Luckily, firefighters were able to make quick work of the blaze so traffic could get moving again.

Dust Storm

3. On Monday, the state saw a behemoth of a dust storm, with dust traveling from Arizona to California. While it lingered over the Valley, it created some dangerous and freaky-looking scenes on freeways.

This serves as another reminder to avoid driving in low visibility. When encountering dust, check for traffic around you, safely slow down, exit the roadway, turn off ALL lights, stay off the brake, remain buckled and wait for the storm to pass.

For more information, visit pullasidestayalive.org. Take some time with your loved ones to watch the video. It may save a life.

4. In Thursday's ADOT Blog, we looked back to a time when employees were encouraged to peel their wheels. All joking aside, it was serious research to test pavement friction, and it made Arizona's highways safer.

1977

We tracked down David Allocco, the driver who did the testing with a specialized car outfitted with bald tires, a roll bar and a harness.

As Allocco put it: “We’d have a water truck that would wet down the road. Then, I’d get the car up to speed, put it in neutral and then you’d have to slam on the brakes as hard as you could with both feet.”

These days we have more sophisticated technology to test road surfaces.

5. Finally, work on Interstate 40 chugs along as crews finished reconstructing a 5-mile stretch of the westbound lanes east of Williams. Soon, they will start working on the eastbound lanes between mileposts 167 and 172.

Interstate 40

While improvements are expected to finish up by fall, motorists should expect delays in this area in order to accommodate the work. Learn more about the improvements and this milestone in our project update.

By David Woodfill / ADOT Communications

It was a week with Fourth of July fireworks, dust storms, a notable wrong-way detection and more. We're recapping it all for you in this week's #FridayFive. You can see what else others are sharing by following the hashtag on social media:

1. The week started with an early bang when Anthem dazzled residents with a fireworks display a day before the Fourth of July. We captured a few pics from our traffic cameras, and what a show it was!

Not to be outdone, other Valley cities followed with their own amazing displays the following night, including Tempe, Phoenix, Avondale and Glendale.

As always, we tied in a couple of safety messages on our electronic freeway signs for the holiday, including "Enjoy your independence? Drive sober."

Happy birthday, America!

2. Early Thursday, ADOT's wrong-way detection and warning system on Interstate 17 in Phoenix detected the first wrong-way driver in the freeway travel lanes.

Freeway Camera

The system alerted the Traffic Operations Center that a wrong-way vehicle was heading southbound in the northbound lanes of I-17 at Union Hills Road.

ADOT and the Department of Public Safety tracked the vehicle on the freeway cameras and relayed its whereabouts to state troopers who found the driver and took him into custody on suspicion of DUI.

Thankfully, no crash resulted from the incident. The wrong-way system went into operation in January.

MORE: https://bit.ly/2KCfKtp

3. Mother Nature hit hard on Thursday, pounding parts of Arizona with high winds and blowing dust that forced the closure of three highways including Interstate 10.

Facebook - Dust Storm Post

The dust started kicking up south of the Valley at about 4 p.m. and slowly worked its way north. The skies had mostly cleared up by about 7 p.m. but lingered in some areas. including over State Route 347 in Maricopa.

The day's events were a great reminder for folks to review our safety tips in preparation for a possibly busy dust-storm season:

• Check for nearby traffic.
• Slow down.
• Exit the roadway completely.
• Turn off your lights.
• Stay off your brake.
• Use your emergency brake.
• Remain buckled and wait out the storm.

More information can be found at our website PullAsideStayAlive.org. Take the time to watch the short instructional video with your family so they're prepared before they encounter a dust storm.

Where in AZ?

4. The winner of this week's Where in AZ?? was sort of a draw on Facebook. (Warning: Spoiler ahead. It's still not too late to head over to our Facebook page at facebook.com/AZDOT and take your best guess!)

Larry Thornton guessed first that it was in the North Rim, which while correct, wasn't as specific as Heath Beard who guessed SR 67 in the North Rim.

We're going to call this one a tie and congratulate both Larry and Heath for their crazy sharp eyes and photographic memories.

How people can identify a road among a bunch of trees or cactus is an ability I've never had – much like being able to decipher those Magic Eye posters at the mall!

5. Finally, we at ADOT have been working to keep you up to speed on the latest developments on the Loop 303 extension.

We recently hosted an open house, but it's not to late to have your say. We're asking everyone with an interest to share their thoughts on our website.

Construction could begin as early as 2020 if the preferred alternative route is formally approved.

Open House

MORE: Loop 303 Extension

By David Woodfill / ADOT Communications

This week was a blast in more ways than one, and we're recapping it all in this #FridayFive. You can see what else others are sharing by following the hashtag #FridayFive on social media:

1. The ADOT Blog told you the story behind a very popular social media post showing South Mountain Freeway workers rushing to hose down a car that caught fire on I-10 and get the driver and her child out of the vehicle and to safety.

Weekend closure

A quick-thinking Traffic Operations Center employee took a few screen grabs, posted them on social media and nearly broke the internet. The reaction from our followers was overwhelming. You heaped praise on the work crews like "Some heroes don’t wear capes" and "Hero of the day!"

"I felt like I was a superstar, but I was doing my job," said Chris Krozel, one of the workers with Connect 202 Partners, the South Mountain Freeway developer. "It does feel good to help someone in need."

2. Don't forget that Interstate 10 (Papago Freeway) will be closed this weekend between 75th and 51st avenues due to construction of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

Eastbound I-10 is scheduled to be closed from 9 p.m. Friday, June 22, to 4 a.m. Sunday, June 24.

Eastbound traffic can exit at 75th Avenue and detour to McDowell Road or Van Buren Street before re-entering the freeway at 51st Avenue. Remember that heavy delays are anticipated. Keep your sanity by taking an alternate route such as the Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway) west of Interstate 17.

Public Meeting

3. What a great turnout we had for a public meeting on planned I-10 improvements in Buckeye!

You packed the house at a public meeting Thursday night – so much so that the project team decided to do an extra presentation to accommodate everyone.

We at ADOT thank you for getting involved. Your thoughts and opinions are critical as we work toward improvements like this.

As part of the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Regional Transportation Plan approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004, the I-10 improvement project between Verrado Way and SR 85 is scheduled for construction starting in 2020.

4. Workers had a blast removing rock outcroppings above State Route 88, as we shared in an ADOT Blog video post this week.

Blasting Debris

The work was part of an improvement project on SR 88 between Apache Junction to east of Tortilla Flat. Crews are resurfacing the road, paving pullouts, installing new signage, replacing guardrails and adjusting some of the road’s curves among other things.

This work is scheduled to be complete later this summer.

5. And finally, Russell Haughey was the first to nail this week's Where in AZ?? photo challenge. The picture simply showed a bridge over a body of water.

Russell got it right out of the gate.

(SPOILER ALERT: If you still want to take a guess on the location, read no further.)

Where in AZ?

The picture is the State Route 77 bridge over the Gila River at Winkelman. It was taken from a pedestrian bridge that dates back to 1916.

Congratulations to Russell and all the other eagle-eyed participants who got this right.

We post Where in AZ?? each Sunday on our Facebook page.

By David Woodfill / ADOT Communications

In this week's Friday Five blog post, transportation officials from other states visited Arizona to witness our strides in developing wrong-way detection technology.

We also stumped you with a new "Where in AZ??" brain teaser and showed some of the latest pictures of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway construction, which can be seen above.

Then Rubble the dog evaluated our work at one of those construction sites. (He approved.)

Finally, we time-traveled to 1978 when Hollywood royalty and high-flying aerobatics converged at the Phoenix Deer Valley Municipal Airport. You'll never guess the movie star who attended that show and included some of the footage in one of his old movies.

Don’t forget to follow the hashtag #FridayFive on social media to see what others are sharing from their week.

1. Other states are looking to the Arizona Department of Transportation as they consider adopting wrong-way driver detection technology.

This week, we hosted law enforcement and transportation officials from California, Florida and Texas who wanted to learn more about our pilot test of wrong-way vehicle detection and warning system on Interstate 17 in Phoenix. The system is the first in the nation to use thermal detection cameras to identify vehicles that are traveling in the wrong direction.

Where in AZ??

2. A road, a hill and a 10 percent gradient-warning sign were the only clues we gave you in this week's "Where in AZ??" challenge.

Dustin Powers was the first on Facebook to guess the correct location, which was State Route 177 a few miles south of Superior on the road to Ray, Kearny and Winkelman.

Congratulations Dustin! You have a photographic memory that would put Vegas' best card sharks to shame.

Dog at the SMF construction Site

3. Rubble on the double! A cute member of the PAW Patrol oversaw some of our work on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

A quick-thinking member of ADOT's Traffic Operations Center got a picture of this little pooch showing a weird level of interest in the goings-on at the future L-202 and I-10 interchange near 59th Avenue and Interstate 10 in Phoenix.

Cute as he may be, he still has to apply at the state's official web site for job postings if he wants to be an ADOT employee. We suggest he try for the position of foreman.

SMF Construction

4. We revisited more construction sites for the South Mountain Freeway and got some impressive pictures, which we shared this week. They included the slideshow presentation featured above. Thumb through it to watch as crews set in place some extremely long girders to create two half-mile bridges that will span the Salt River.

If you don't get your fill, there's plenty more to explore on the South Mountain Freeway Flickr page.

Festival of Flight Airshow

5. For Throwback Thursday, we remembered the 1978 Festival of Flight airshow at the Phoenix Deer Valley Municipal Airport.

One of the silver screen's biggest stars at the time visited the Valley and filmed scenes for a now-obscure 1980 movie. Another actor was so impressed by what he saw that he later earned his pilot’s license.

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

The #FridayFive is taking you from the sun to the moon to a Broadway show. Keep reading and it will all make sense! Don’t forget to follow the hashtag #FridayFive on social media to see what others are sharing from their week.

1. We’re kicking off this week’s #FridayFive with the photo above featuring work on South Mountain Freeway set against the backdrop of Arizona’s amazing skyline. The Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway is already more than 35 percent complete, but construction will ramp up even more this year. The latest updates are available on the project’s Facebook page and at SouthMountainFreeway.com.

2. While our cameras usually only see traffic, we occasionally spot animals or great sunsets on our cameras. If you weren’t up early enough on Wednesday morning to catch the Super Blue Blood Moon, our high-definition traffic cameras captured it and we shared it on our social media pages.

3. The MVD is testing expanded hours in 11 communities across the state and will open at 7:30 a.m. We took a Facebook poll and most of you were in favor of the expanded hours. For those of you who aren’t early risers, many MVD transactions can be conducted online at ServiceArizona.com.

4. We hope you’ve marked your calendar and will join us next week in Tucson for a public meeting on the Interstate 10 and Houghton Road interchange. The meeting will focus on the proposed replacement of this traffic interchange. It begins at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8, at Empire High School.

5. “Hamilton,” the hit Broadway musical, debuted at ASU Gammage earlier this week. You might be wondering what a Broadway show has to do with transportation. We used this opportunity to tie transportation safety to a local event and remind drivers to be safe on the roads. The signs spawned the hashtag #ADOTaMusical on Twitter and even caught the attention of the Hamilton creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda.

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

The Friday Five is a blog about everything happening at ADOT this week. Make sure you follow the hashtag #FridayFive to see other's lists for the week.

1. On Monday, many state offices were closed for Martin Luther King Jr./Civil Rights Day. Even though it was a holiday, ADOT crews were still ready to roll in case there was a crash that needed their attention. A recent blog post has more on our ALERT teams.

2. We recently marked a milestone at the MVD – our best month ever. We’re not counting up the number of transactions but counting how little time you spent at the MVD. We know no one likes to wait in line, so we’ve been working to reduce wait times. For November and December, door-to-door customer time averaged slightly over 22 minutes in urban offices and approximately 18 minutes in rural locations. In the same period just one year ago, average times were just over 30 minutes in both rural and urban regions. Two years ago, that number was 52 minutes.

3. Several times a week, we challenge you with Arizona trivia questions on our social media channels. This week we asked about the first territorial capital and information about when states were admitted to the union. Make sure you follow us on Twitter for more challenges!

4. On Wednesday, we announced upcoming traffic restrictions for West Valley drivers as Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway interchange construction continues at the Interstate 10 junction. Our press release has the details.

5. Last week we shared three new specialty license plates that are available. As you can see, someone already has the Barrett-Jackson plate on their vehicle at the auction! An Arizona Science Center plate and a Luke Air Force Base plate are also available. Visit our website to see the plates and learn more about the charities that will benefit from the purchase of these plates.

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

It’s been a busy week at ADOT, and it’s only going to be busier this weekend. This Friday Five blog starts off with some crucial information for drivers in Phoenix. We’re also feeling groovy as we throw it back to a late ‘70s mapping project.

Follow the #FridayFive hashtag on social media to see what others are sharing today.

1. Early this week we announced a weekend closure of State Route 51 (Piestewa Freeway). Here are the important details you’ll want to know if you’re traveling in the area.

• Northbound SR 51 will be closed from 3 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, between the I-10 “Mini-Stack” interchange to Loop 101 in north Phoenix while crews apply an oil-based treatment to refresh the existing rubberized asphalt freeway pavement. 
• Southbound SR 51 will be closed from 3 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, between Loop 101 in north Phoenix and the I-10 Mini-Stack south of McDowell Road. 

Drivers should plan ahead and consider alternate routes, including Interstate 17 or Loop 101 during the closure.

2. It wasn’t the dog days of summer, but an ADOT employee spotted the weiner mobile making a stop at our Sunset Point Rest Area on Interstate 17 this week. He didn’t get a hot dog, but he did snap some photos. Our Facebook fans enjoyed the pictures and came up with some doggone good puns.

3. We hope you’ve added Monday, Nov. 6, to your calendar because you’re invited to two public meetings at the Red Mountain Library on US 60X in Mesa. US 60X is commonly known as Main Street/Apache Trail.

We’re looking to create a long-term vision for improvements to US 60X between Sossaman and Meridian roads.

The meetings scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6.

4. We’ve come a long way! From low-tech paper maps taped together in the 1970s, cartography has made big advances in the last 40 years. Wednesday’s blog post takes us back to 1977 and explains where mapping is today.

5. It’s easy to see all the progress being made on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway. Not only do we share progress pics on the ADOT Facebook page, but you can get the latest on traffic restrictions and behind the scenes photos and videos on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway Facebook page.