When a new section of highway opens, we here at ADOT celebrate right alongside the local communities, citizens, contractors and stakeholders who all played a part in getting the road built.

We could just quietly open the roadway and know a few thousand people will happen to notice since they live nearby – instead, we choose to celebrate the achievement! That’s because a brand new section of highway is a fresh connection, certain to have an impact on many more people and businesses throughout the state.

Sure, the drivers who are closest to the new road likely will notice an immediate improvement to their commute – don’t get us wrong, that’s a great benefit – but the advantages don’t stop there…

On May 7, many Valley residents turned out for the open house/dedication event celebrating the new, 14-mile stretch of Loop 303 in the West Valley (see video above and photo slideshow after the jump). Already, employment centers are opening or are planned in Peoria, Surprise and Glendale. The new 303 corridor presents additional opportunities for business and economic development.

Just think about it – a new, quicker link means businesses can move their products to stores easier. Customers can get to services faster and without the stress of traffic tie-ups.

Not only that, but businesses look at demographics to focus their marketing and hiring needs. They look for people who are interested in buying or securing their services – that could ultimately result in business development, more jobs and a healthier local economy. Those businesses may be miles away from the new highway, but the domino effect is evident because now residents in the area have access!

The economic possibilities absolutely are worth celebrating, but it’s equally important to note the impact a new highway has on us as individuals.

We wrote about it back in our very first blog post … transportation is personal. And, a new, more direct route can make it easier for families and friends to see each other more often and do things together with out the anxiety and frustration of fighting traffic.

So, the next time a new roadway is set to open, come on out and celebrate with us! You’ll be sure to see the connections that are on the way to your family, community and Arizona!

Wondering what to do Saturday morning?

How about taking ADOT up on the rare opportunity to walk, jog, skate or bike along the new segment of Loop 303 before it opens to traffic.

This week you’ve learned how the 14-mile stretch was landscaped, paved, checked for smoothness and even what’s in store for its future … now is your chance to see the road up close.

The free open house and dedication event is Saturday, May 7, from 7 to 11 a.m., on the Loop 303. For parking, enter at the northbound Loop 303 on-ramp at Happy Valley Parkway (west of Lake Pleasant Parkway) in Peoria – volunteers will be on hand to direct drivers to the parking areas.

The event, which is hosted by ADOT, the city of Peoria and the Maricopa Association of Governments, is set to include a 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring remarks from Governor Jan Brewer and local officials.

There also will be bike tours, booths and displays from local businesses and community groups and plenty of kids’ activity areas – including a rock-climbing wall! Pets are welcome, too, as long as they’re on a leash … just please be prepared to pick up after them.

And, remember it could get hot out there, so bring plenty of water, sunscreen and be sure to dress appropriately for the warm weather, that includes protecting your pet’s paws if on hot pavement.

Hope to see you out there and don’t forget to check out ADOT’s Facebook page next week for photos of the event!

* Just a reminder … the road will not be open to vehicles immediately after Saturday’s event. The entire 14-mile stretch of new freeway between Happy Valley Parkway is scheduled to open the week of May 9. 

Here are a few facts on the new portion of Loop 303:

• Construction on the road began in February 2009.
• The total construction cost for the project is $170 million – the primary funding source is a half-cent sales tax for transportation projects approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004 (Prop. 400).
• The projected daily traffic volume is approximately 15,000 vehicles per day.
• There are 18 bridges along the new stretch of freeway.
• About 12 million pounds of reinforcing steel went into this project, along with 100,000 linear feet worth of pipes, 49,000 linear feet of concrete barrier and 187,000 square yards of concrete channel lining.
• There are 122 poles installed for lighting and other uses.

This week we’ve focused on the newest stretch of Loop 303 (maybe that’s because we’re really excited to see it open next week!). But, there is so much more planned for the entire freeway and today we want to give you a look at what to expect.

Right now the 303 only traverses about 21 miles between I-10 in Goodyear and Happy Valley Parkway in Peoria. It is primarily a two-lane roadway between I-10 and US 60 (Grand Avenue) and it becomes a four-lane divided highway from US 60 to Happy Valley Parkway.

But, eventually, Loop 303 will be a six-lane (three lanes in each direction) freeway that crosses more than 40 miles of the West Valley.

Ultimately it will extend from the proposed State Route 30 (previously known as State Route 801 -- the future I-10 reliever freeway) a few miles south of Interstate-10 in Goodyear all the way up to Interstate-17, near Lone Mountain Road, two miles south of State Route 74 (Carefree Highway) in Phoenix.

Here’s a quick rundown of the work it’s going to take to get us there …

• Happy Valley Parkway to I-17 – We’re nearing the end of the first phase of this project. Construction for phase one started in 2009 and produced a four-lane divided roadway that includes interchanges at Happy Valley, Lone Mountain and Lake Pleasant parkways, as well as an interchange with I-17 at Lone Mountain Road that will serve as the interim connection between I-17 and Loop 303 until completion of a freeway-to-freeway interchange. This stretch is set to open the week of May 9!
• US 60 to I-17 – Proposed improvements for this 20-mile segment include the addition of a third lane in each direction and several overpasses or underpasses at intersecting roads. This phase of work will likely start in 2019.
• I-10 to US 60 – Currently, this 16-mile segment is a two-lane roadway. The plan is to complete this section as a six-lane divided freeway with a freeway-to-freeway interchange at Loop 303 and I-10. Construction is anticipated to start in summer 2011 between Mountain View Boulevard and Peoria Avenue. One-way frontage roads will also be added at the new freeway-to-freeway interchange between Loop 303 and I-10 and also between Northern and Peoria avenues, where the Northern Parkway interchange is planned.

Funding for all this work is the result of a half-cent sales tax, which voters approved in 2004.

That money is going toward projects identified in the Regional Transportation Plan – a blueprint for Valleywide transportation improvements in Maricopa County for the next 20 years.

Loop 303 is an important component of the plan that was spearheaded by the Maricopa Association of Governments through an extensive public process to identify regional transportation needs. In fact, the 14-mile stretch of Loop 303 set to open next week is the first new freeway segment built with this voter-approved funding.

Nobody likes a bumpy ride.

In fact, ADOT goes to great lengths to make sure Arizona ’s roads are as smooth as possible…even when that means walking hundreds of miles of roadway!

To measure the smoothness of a road, ADOT uses a machine called a profilograph that surveys the road for any lumps, bumps or dips. (Recently it was used to identify any imperfections in the newest stretch of Loop 303 before it opens this month – see video above.)

Basically, a profilograph is a highly sophisticated computer system attached to a large metal frame, 12 small wheels and an ordinary bicycle tire. The entire contraption, which is 25-feet long and weighs about 350 pounds, is pushed by hand over the full stretch of a roadway several times to provide the road’s “smoothness factor.”

The bicycle tire, which simulates the travel of a vehicle, indicates to the computer any dip or bump in the road greater than 3/10 of an inch. The resulting data details each imperfection in the road letting the contractor know what areas they need to go back and either fill or grind down.

Who says constructing a freeway through a beautiful desert expanse has to spoil the view? 

Once the new stretch of Loop 303 opens this month, motorists will see for themselves that great care was taken by ADOT and its project partners to keep the scene as pristine and seemingly untouched as possible.

Native desert plants that lived in the path of the new freeway were not just pulled up and thrown away – they were uprooted, cared for during freeway construction and then replanted alongside the new road.

Crews began by taking an inventory of all the plants surrounding the 14-mile stretch of highway. There were saguaros, barrel cacti, several other cactus varieties, ocotillo, mesquite, ironwood and palo verde trees to contend with.

Landscapers decided which plants to salvage based on a variety of factors, including the plant’s species, size, health and aesthetic qualities. The saguaros and some of the other cacti are designated by law as protected, which means they cannot be allowed to succumb to construction projects.

A total of about 6,900 cacti and nearly 1,000 trees were tagged, dug up in such a way to preserve their roots and carefully replanted in three nurseries located on the construction site – the nearby location was good for the plants because they were already used to the site’s soil conditions.

Special care was taken to help keep the plants comfortable in their new, temporary home. Gravity-fed water systems were set up in the nurseries to ensure the plants thrived.

To assist in the transition back to their permanent spots along the 303, contractors saved the top layer of native soil from the roadbed and applied it to the slopes where a majority of the replanting occurred.

The forethought paid off...so far, there has been a 90 percent survival rate for all the plants.

Outside contractors will care for the plants for the next two years. During that time, there also will be a temporary watering system in place alongside the freeway.

After the two years are up, the irrigation system will be taken out and the plants should be ready to make it on their own. The cost savings associated with this project include not having to install granite mulch, new plants and underground irrigation pipes and controls.

ADOT’s Chief Landscape Architect LeRoy Brady says he’d like to issue a challenge to people to watch as the vegetation stabilizes and adds to the area aesthetically.

He says that in addition to the replanting, all medians and roadsides have been hydro-seeded with 20 different species of plants – that means the area will continue to change, develop and grow more beautiful over time!

The countdown is on!

It won’t be long before drivers in the West Valley get to experience the newest section of Loop 303, otherwise known as the Bob Stump Memorial Parkway.

Stretching between Happy Valley Parkway and Interstate-17, the 14-mile segment opens this month and represents just the start of improvements slated for Loop 303. Later this week we’ll delve deeper into what the future holds for this freeway, but for now, we want to focus on one of the steps involved in the detailed process of building a road … today we’re talking about concrete!

This four-lane segment of the 303 contains almost 800,000 square yards of concrete pavement in just the roadway alone. But instead of purchasing and hauling concrete from an outside source, contractors on this project mixed their own on site using three portable concrete plants.

Portable plants are a huge time and money saver. They require only one person to operate (typically a few people will assist in loading material), and once the plants are fired up, they produce roughly 300 cubic yards of concrete an hour. According to one estimate, mixing on site saves about 20 percent over what it would cost to purchase from a commercial plant.

And not only did they mix the concrete at the project site, but some of the material that went into the actual concrete and roadway base (the layer of material between the dirt on the ground and the concrete) was mined on site, too. ADOT’s contractor was able to crush and use 500,000 tons of rock for the roadway base. By recycling materials on site, more than 37,000 truck trips were eliminated.

But how do they make the concrete? Well, if you can imagine mixing a giant cake, you can visualize how concrete is made.

First the contractor has the components – cement, flyash, aggregate and water – delivered and placed in stockpiles around the plant. The material is then loaded onto a conveyor belt and weighed by a computer before being placed in the mixer.

In just a minute and a half the concrete is ready to be loaded onto a transport vehicle and then placed on the roadway.