PHOENIX – Less than six months after major construction began on the state’s largest single highway project ever, progress on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway has been swift.

In Ahwatukee Foothills, future interchanges are taking shape at 17th Avenue and 40th Street, with columns and abutments in place and crews scheduled to begin placing bridge girders next month. In Laveen, 72 large concrete piers form the start of two half-mile-long bridges that will carry traffic over the Salt River. In the West Valley, work continues to create an interchange with the I-10 Papago Freeway at 59th Avenue, including adding piers that will carry ramps.

This was the goal when the Arizona Department of Transportation greenlighted the state’s first highway public-private partnership to deliver a critically needed transportation project for Valley motorists in a shorter time frame.

Instead of building the final piece of the Loop 202 system as nine individual projects, as originally planned, the 22-mile corridor is being built as a single project. That will deliver the South Mountain Freeway by the end of 2019, at least three years sooner.

“This first-of-its-kind public-private partnership in Arizona will not only save taxpayers’ dollars by reducing the overall cost but enable ADOT to create a much-needed transportation link sooner,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “As a result, Valley motorists will reap the benefits when they have another option to travel between the East and West Valley, and traffic flow will improve overall on our regional transportation network.”

Under an innovative agreement announced in February 2016, Connect 202 Partners, a team consisting of Fluor Enterprises Inc., Granite Construction Co. and Ames Construction Inc., with Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc. as the lead designer, is responsible for the design and construction of the freeway corridor and for 30 years of maintenance following construction.

Using this delivery method, the developer can work in several areas of the freeway corridor at once. For instance, while some areas of the freeway are still under design, the developer can work in other areas that are ready for construction.

Instead of completing small portions of the freeway and opening them individually, the South Mountain Freeway will open in its entirety when finished, unlike many other ADOT projects. This allows Connect 202 Partners to build the freeway more efficiently and ensure the project remains on budget by not having to tie up resources, personnel and equipment as long.

The only area not under construction is the Center segment, between 51st Avenue and 32nd Lane, where work is scheduled to begin in mid-2018.

The 22-mile freeway will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to Interstate 10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.

Visit SouthMountainFreeway.com to stay informed on the South Mountain Freeway project and sign up for updates and weekly traffic alerts to receive notifications of upcoming restrictions and closures.

SAN LUIS RÍO COLORADO, Mexico – An Arizona Department of Transportation program aiming to reduce commercial vehicle wait times at the international border offered its first training in Mexico this week to help Mexican trucking firms better understand and prepare for safety inspections.

Members of ADOT’s Border Liaison Unit met this week in San Luis Rio Colorado with trucking company leaders, drivers and mechanics. Their goal: making commercial travel across the border safer and more efficient by educating employees of Mexican trucking companies about what is required at ADOT’s inspection stations in Nogales, San Luis and Douglas.

“Having safe commercial trucks on Arizona roads not only saves the companies time and money, it promotes public safety in Arizona and across the country,” said Tim Lane, director of ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division, which conducts the safety inspections. “If commercial trucking companies understand what our inspectors are looking for, they can make repairs before their trucks are on the road, when it is more efficient and less expensive than if they are stopped at ports of entry.”

Training sessions have been held this year in Douglas, Nogales and San Luis, providing both classroom instruction and demonstrations of how ADOT’s inspection stations work. In Mexico, the training will offer an International Border Inspection Qualification program, through which drivers can receive a certificate documenting their training to help streamline the inspection process and allow ADOT inspectors to focus on drivers who haven’t completed the program.

Topics include permits, weight limits, inspection procedures, brakes and securing loads.

The Border Liaison Unit’s outreach has a direct impact on international commerce and on Arizona’s economy, as the state’s trade with Mexico was estimated to be worth $30 billion annually and support 100,000 jobs in 2015. But most important, Lane said, is helping ensure that trucks are ready to operate safely on Arizona’s highways.

“The Border Liaison Unit and the International Border Inspection Qualification program are designed to make Arizona roads safer,” Lane said.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is getting ready to install Arizona’s first prefabricated bridge along Oatman Highway, also known as old Route 66, with the help of Mohave County and the Federal Highway Administration.

The 110-foot bridge, manufactured in Phoenix and then transported in sections to the site in northwestern Arizona, will carry traffic over Sacramento Wash, a mile north of Interstate 40 in Topock. Supports have already been built along the roadway, awaiting installation of the prefabricated bridge next week.

To accommodate this work, Exit 1 on I-40 will be closed from 12:01 a.m. Monday, March 13, to midnight on Thursday, March 16. Drivers heading to Oatman and points along the Colorado River from I-40 will need to detour through Needles, California, taking the J Street/Downtown exit and following signs toward Arizona State Route 95 North/Bullhead City.

Accelerated bridge construction using prefabricated elements saves time and money, while constructing the bridge elements off-site greatly reduces traffic restrictions needed for construction ‒ in this case, days instead of weeks or months.

“This initiative saves an estimated $2.6 million in road-user impacts to traditional bridge construction methods,” Mohave County Public Works Director Steven P. Latoski said. “That includes work zone delays and a costly, long-term detour to commuters, businesses and visitors who depend on the Oatman Highway corridor.”

Mohave County received a $1 million Federal Highway Administration grant toward the $1.8 million project, which ADOT is administering.

PHOENIX – Sensors installed at three Interstate 40 locations west of Flagstaff are helping the Arizona Department of Transportation forecast the likelihood of ice forming and respond accordingly.

The combination of freezing temperatures and moisture means ice can form overnight in Arizona’s high country. It’s an especially big challenge on I-40 between Ash Fork and Flagstaff, which is above 6,000 feet in most places and sees heavy use by commercial and passenger vehicles.

“Technology can provide us with another way to keep motorists safe as they travel to Arizona’s colder regions,” said Audra Merrick, district engineer for ADOT’s North Central District. “These sensors are another tool in ADOT’s toolbox to help keep the highways clear of snow and ice during winter season.”

The roadway sensors, positioned just west of Flagstaff, just west of Williams and on Ash Fork Hill, are connected to ADOT Road Weather Information System locations, which use cameras and instruments to provide the latest conditions. Each location has one sensor measuring the salt content of road surface moisture, which affects the freezing point, and another measuring the temperature of the ground underneath.

A computer program combines this information with data from the Road Weather Information System and National Weather Service to forecast the likelihood of ice forming, helping ADOT determine whether to send crews out to lay deicing material.

The program can also alert operators if the pavement temperature drops below a certain threshold.

The data provided so far has been so helpful that ADOT plans to install sensors at additional high-country roadway locations over the next few years.

The three sensors on I-40 cost $90,000 and were funded through ADOT maintenance funds.

PHOENIX – What difference can half an hour make? A huge one when it results in an 80 percent reduction in employee overtime.

The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division has seen major savings in those payroll costs since modifying the operating hours at its three Tucson-area offices. This change was brought about by MVD implementing Lean management techniques, part of the Arizona Management System, that empower employees to find ways to improve the customer experience.

In June 2016, Tucson MVD offices changed their opening time from 8 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. to better serve customers who arrive early and line up prior to the doors opening.

The earlier office opening time helps customers who want to get their business done early in the day and also allows management more flexibility when scheduling employees. Because of that flexibility, the number of employees available to serve customers is more consistent throughout the day and transactions are conducted more efficiently. That in turn results in fewer MVD staff working after closing time to finish various tasks, vastly reducing overtime costs. In the six months since making the change, overtime hours have dropped 80 percent when compared to the same time period a year ago.

“This is a great win for our customers, our employees and the taxpayers of Arizona,” said MVD Director Eric Jorgensen. “Because of the Lean management initiative championed by Governor Ducey, MVD is empowering its employees statewide to come up with ideas that provide a financial benefit as well as improved customer service.”

He added, “Tucson MVD employees now don’t stay late at work nearly as often, which means more time for themselves and their families. And our customers spend much less time at an office with overall wait times dropping by a statewide average of about 20 minutes. This is another way we’re getting people out of line and safely on the road.”

For more information on Tucson office locations visit: azdot.gov/mvd.

TEMPE – The latest ideas and innovations for the future of transportation will be on display as transportation officials gather Tuesday, Oct. 4, for the 2016 Innovation Exchange Campaign, hosted by the Arizona Council for Transportation Innovation.

The annual event brings together the Arizona Department of Transportation and other professionals in the transportation industry to share and learn about the latest technology advancements and innovations in transportation.

This year’s event, held at the Rio Salado Conference Center in Tempe, features exhibitors, an innovation showcase and speakers.

Topics include reinventing vehicles in Arizona, the use of laser technology to produce high-resolution mapping from a moving vehicle and innovations that will enhance project design and delivery.

Formed in 2012, the Arizona Council for Transportation Innovation supports innovative technology and techniques among transportation professionals to ensure smart, efficient investment in Arizona's highways and other transportation infrastructure.

The council is made up of officials from ADOT, the Federal Highway Administration, Maricopa and Pima counties, and engineering professionals.

For more information, visit azdot.gov and enter “Innovation Exchange Campaign” in the search box.

PHOENIX ‒ When a section of freeway settles a bit, taking a high-tech approach to the repair work allows the Arizona Department of Transportation to give the roadway a lift without digging up the pavement.

That’s now the case along the Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) in the Scottsdale area, where ADOT is injecting a foam that hardens as it expands to stabilize the soil and lift the pavement. Crews have removed a minor roadway dip without the disruption of digging up and replacing part of the freeway.

The foam injections are being done as part of the ongoing ADOT project to widen and improve Loop 101 between Shea Boulevard and Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway). Repairing the depression in the freeway’s northbound lanes near McDonald Drive is one of the project team’s last work items before completing the addition of a new layer of smooth rubberized asphalt in that area.

“This is certainly less disruptive than digging up the freeway to do reconstruction work,” said Steve Boschen, director of ADOT’s Infrastructure Delivery and Operations Division. “It is a high-tech fix when it comes to long-term ground settlement beneath a freeway. Expansion foam isn’t the answer in all cases, but we’ve had some great success in offsetting the effects of ground settlement.”

Over time, ADOT and contractors have used the expansion foam at other freeway locations where the ground and pavement have settled. It has been used a number of times to lift concrete slabs on either end of freeway bridges. As the foam is injected beneath the freeway, it hardens as it expands and lifts the pavement while stabilizing the soil to guard against future settlement.

“It’s already made a noticeable difference with the dip that drivers may have noticed as they traveled northbound on Loop 101 near the Arizona Canal crossing north of McDonald Drive,” said Dan Haskins, ADOT's resident engineer on the Loop 101 widening project. “We’re able to work during overnight hours with lane closures. The contractor drills very small holes in the freeway pavement. Crews are then able to run narrow hoses to a depth underground where open space in the soil can be filled with the expansion foam. In this case we’re going as far as 30 feet beneath the freeway.”

Before the foam injection is scheduled, ADOT geotechnical staff members have the job of examining the area where the ground beneath the freeway has settled to determine if the use of the foam is the recommended course of action. More advanced soil testing is then done using equipment to map the ground where settling has occurred. That helps give crews the information they need to inject the foam and stabilize the soil.

The Loop 101 widening project between Shea Boulevard and Loop 202 is adding new outside lanes and other improvements along an 11-mile stretch of the freeway. In addition to the current soil-stabilization work near the McDonald Drive interchange, crews are adding a new top layer of smooth rubberized asphalt along the freeway in a series of weekend closures. The entire project is scheduled for completion by this fall.

PHOENIX ‒ Who says doing business with a government agency has to involve lots and lots and lots of paper?

Thanks to improvements to how the Arizona Department of Transportation presents project opportunities online, contractors’ recycle bins are getting lighter. Those interested in bidding for projects now can simply determine which projects they want to pursue and download related documents.

It replaces a process that was more than a little heavy on paper, requiring contractors to drive to ADOT and pay for copies of construction plans and specifications. For example, bidders hoping to work on a six-mile section of Loop 303 several years ago hauled away more than 1,700 pages of plans.

“This is another example of our commitment using the latest technology to continuously improve processes and create better experiences for our customers,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said.

The improvement is saving both ADOT and contractors time and money. While contractors had paid a fee to help cover ADOT’s printing costs, the agency often wound up with more stacks of plans than bidders.

For contractors, the innovation also eliminates the need to scan 24-by-36-inch plan sheets. This saves time and effort, making it easier to do business with ADOT ‒ and to do business in general.

“The benefits are numerous, from the simple ability to look at plans quickly and assess whether the job is a fit without having to have plans mailed or have a runner go down to pick them up,” said Carlos Gonzalez, executive vice president of Rummel Construction, a member of the Arizona chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America. “It makes it easier for general contractors to get plans distributed to subcontractors, allowing more time to develop comprehensive bids."

The new system, available at azdot.gov/business (see Contracts and Specifications > Current Advertisements), went live recently with the help of ADOT Contracts and Specifications and Information Technology Group team members. In addition to including a variety of plan documents and other important information, the site allows contractors to receive automatic notifications of any project changes.

Steve Boschen, director of ADOT’s Infrastructure Delivery and Operations Division, said that while ADOT is still determining exactly how much the improved process will save the state in direct printing and labor costs, it’s already providing better customer service to Arizona contractors and subcontractors.

“We’re excited to have a new process that will make it easier for contractors to do business with ADOT,” he said.