pinto creek bridge

ADOT’s US 60 Pinto Creek Bridge replacement wins regional honor

ADOT’s US 60 Pinto Creek Bridge replacement wins regional honor

ADOT’s US 60 Pinto Creek Bridge replacement wins regional honor

June 12, 2023

Best Use of Technology, Medium Project, in America’s Transportation Awards

PHOENIX – An Arizona Department of Transportation project that replaced the US 60 Pinto Creek Bridge between the East Valley and Globe has received a regional honor.

The 2023 America’s Transportation Awards named the effort Best Use of Technology and Innovation, Medium Project, for the Western region. The competition is sponsored by AASHTO, an association representing highway and transportation departments nationwide, as well as AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re grateful to see the Pinto Creek Bridge replacement honored among projects throughout the West, but we’re even prouder of what this improvement has accomplished for those who rely on this critical route for passenger and commercial traffic,” said Greg Byres, ADOT State Engineer and Deputy Director for Transportation. “ADOT engineers and the contractor used innovative design and construction approaches to create a safer and more reliable US 60 for decades to come.”

Completed in 2022, the $25.3 million project built the new bridge next to the one it replaced, with traffic continuing to use the old bridge until the new bridge opened.

Among other innovative approaches used:

ADOT used a bid-alternative method for design, which allowed the contractor to determine economical and supportive foundation systems for each of the bridge’s three piers while taking into account the mountainous terrain.
To create retaining wall structures up to 30 feet high, ADOT engineers developed design standards and specifications for a micro-pile foundation system using high-strength, small-diameter steel rods.
A temporary access road was built to the floor of the steep canyon to provide access for heavy equipment, including a 400-ton crane that placed girders atop the piers, the tallest of which is 138 feet.
ADOT partnered with Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix to temporarily remove and then return hedgehog cactuses unique to the project site.

You can view photos of the completed bridge at flic.kr/s/aHBqjzWgRb. Carrying two lanes of traffic, the bridge is 695.5 feet long, has 10-foot-wide shoulders and can carry heavier loads than its predecessor, which was 72 years old.

The award was presented last week at the annual meeting of WASHTO, which represents departments of transportation in the West.

The bridge too tough to die - an appreciation

The bridge too tough to die - an appreciation

The bridge too tough to die - an appreciation

By Doug Nick / ADOT Communications

November 2, 2021

Getting older can be tough. We can probably all agree on that, no matter what generation you might belong to.

Just recently, ADOT experienced something that proves not only the challenges of aging, but the resiliency of things that have more than a little patina of time.

Take, for example, the Pinto Creek bridge on US 60 a bit west of Globe-Miami.

For the past few years, ADOT has been building a new bridge for that span. It hasn’t been without its challenges, especially as the project neared completion.

There was a devastating wildfire that literally reached the edge of the project site. Then, as if in a cosmic comedy, the 2021 monsoon rains decided to pick the Globe area to be especially drenched. That resulted in Pinto Creek doing what creeks in these parts are meant to do - carry a whole lot of water in a very short period of time. Fortunately, the damage was limited and easily repaired.

Finally, in September the new bridge and roadway approaches were opened for motorists and the old bridge was prepared to meet its end.

This was not without some regret. The Pinto Creek design was well-loved by ADOT and many residents of the nearby communities. It was one of many projects planned and supervised by Ralph Hoffman, the state bridge engineer from 1923 to 1954. He also designed the Navajo Bridge over Marble Canyon, which is near what is now Lake Powell, and the 1931 portion of the Mill Avenue Bridge in Tempe, among many others. His is an enduring and important legacy.

Now, the existing bridge was completed in 1949, making it a product of the “Greatest Generation;'' you know, the people who endured the Great Depression, battled polio and fought and won World War II? Is it any wonder they built the original Pinto Creek bridge to last?

Sadly, what could not be foreseen were vast increases in traffic numbers and the behemoth commercial vehicles that would use the road in the 21st century. While safe, the old beauty had to go. It wasn't designed for these times and the date for its demolition was set.

Then, as if to mock us all, the bridge had one final act to prove its metal, er, mettle. As charges were installed at key points and then detonated on the appointed day, the earth shook and thunderous peals rang out.

But the bridge did not fall.

You have to admire the grit of the people who designed and built that structure, and if it had a soul, you’d have to say it wouldn’t give up without a fight. Yep, in 1949 maybe everything was just a bit tougher.

In the end, more explosives solved the problem, and the bridge finally succumbed to reality; sad, unrelenting reality.

But it fought for, and got, one more day of existence. And that’s worth a little cheer for the bridge too tough to die.

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Endangered cactus species rescued at bridge project

Endangered cactus species rescued at bridge project

Endangered cactus species rescued at bridge project

May 12, 2021

Thriving, not just surviving, is the goal of a joint effort by the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix to protect an endangered species of cactus that grows only in one tiny area of Arizona. That area also happens to be where ADOT is building a replacement bridge over Pinto Creek on U.S. 60 near Globe-Miami.

In 2018, ADOT began the project to replace the current 72 year-old structure. Before that work began, ADOT partnered with botanists from the Desert Botanical Garden to make sure endangered hedgehog cacti that grow in the construction zone were rescued.

Project work will be completed in 2022 and the cacti replanted.

“The location of this project is the only place in the world where these endangered Hedgehog cacti exist,” said ADOT Biology Specialist Joshua Fife. “One of our jobs at ADOT is to make sure that every project we do respects the environment. It’s not only the law, but it’s the right thing to do and protecting these endangered cacti is valuable for generations to come.”

The rescue effort required several of the members of the Desert Botanical Garden team to rappel into the canyon, carefully dig up, cover and transport the plants to the Garden complex in Phoenix where the cacti are being cared for and propagated.

“We jumped at this opportunity to work with ADOT because it is such a special plant and as an endangered species, conserving it is vital,” said Steve Blackwell, Conservations Collections Manager for Desert Botanical Garden. “They are an important part of the food chain and they are also very beautiful, especially when they bloom. The blossoms have a bright magenta color.”

“Not only will we be able to return the rescued cacti to the site once the project is done, but we will have more cacti than when we began,” he added. “Because part of this process is to hand pollinate the plants at the garden complex and we are also able to clone the mother plants. This is a great win for the environment.”

For more information on ADOT Environmental Planning: www.azdot.gov

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