PHOENIX ‒ After six months of renovations and improvements, the Canoa Ranch Rest Area on Interstate 19 in Green Valley has reopened.

Improvements include new paint, upgrades to the bathrooms and electrical and mechanical systems, and measures to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The northbound and southbound rest areas had been closed since November for the work.

Canoa Ranch also is the first Arizona rest area to have its water system connected to a nearby community. By connecting the Canoa Ranch Rest Area water system with the Community Water System of Green Valley, Arizona Department of Transportation crews saved the cost of digging new wells and related work.

The Canoa Ranch Rest Areas are the only rest stops along I-19 between Nogales and Tucson. The project follows others in recent years to upgrade ADOT rest areas that have been in place for as long as 50 years. 

PHOENIX – Water at Arizona Department of Transportation rest areas, most of them located in remote desert locations and relying on their own wells, is like water to Arizona overall: There’s only so much of it, a great deal of effort is required to get it where it needs to be and it pays to conserve what you have.

At the Interstate 17 Sunset Point Rest Area, where a million people stop each year, the water comes from a well that’s 1,800 feet deep. Along Interstate 10 in southeastern Arizona, Texas Canyon Rest Area relies on a 5-mile pipeline carrying well water to facilities serving around 800,000 visitors annually. In fact, only two of ADOT’s rest areas are located where water is available through a utility.

That’s part of the reason why ADOT has made changes in recent years that today save 40,000 gallons of water every day across its 28 rest area sites.

Some of these improvements are obvious to visitors, such as lower-flow sinks with metered faucets, waterless urinals and upgraded toilets that use far less water per flush. Others are more subtle, such as ADOT’s decision to switch soap dispensers from liquid to foam, which requires less water to rinse. Still more happen out of public view, such as rest area resident caretakers starting each day by emailing photographs of water meter readings so managers can look for spikes that indicate leaks.

Answering Governor Doug Ducey’s call for a culture of conservation that helps secure Arizona’s water future, ADOT is encouraging employees to identify ways the agency can be part of the solution. With that in mind, ADOT recently held a contest to celebrate successes in conserving water, with rest areas winning top honors.

The impetus came from ADOT Director John Halikowski, who had noticed that palm trees and bushes were being over-watered outside ADOT’s administrative building in Phoenix while a few blocks away state lawmakers were discussing the Drought Contingency Plan.

“We all need to look for ways large and small to conserve water, and that includes those of us at ADOT,” Halikowski said. “While our contest turned up great examples of conservation, each of us can do more.”

Another honoree was the ADOT-operated Grand Canyon National Park Airport, where staff members make monthly checks of water meters at every building. If use goes up, they check for and repair leaking toilets, leaks in water lines and any other problems that waste water. The airport also includes shutting off the water in check-out requirements for staff members who live in on-site housing.

As with rest areas, location is one of the reasons why conservation is essential for the airport. Under its agreement with the community of Tusayan, Grand Canyon National Park Airport can only fill its water tanks once in the spring and once in the fall, so each supply has to last.

Other contest entries included installing a thermostat that halved water use by the Deck Park Tunnel’s cooling system and even pointing out a leaky faucet in an employee bathroom.

Improvements that have reduced water use at rest areas also have been incorporated at ADOT’s commercial ports of entry and at maintenance facilities, many of them also located in remote areas.  

At rest areas, the goal is taking one good idea and making it consistent statewide, according to Bobby Wheeler, ADOT’s rest area manager.

Case in point: Each rest area now has a valve-exercise program in which valves that are part of water systems are regularly inspected and operated to reduce the chances of a failure. That change required mapping and numbering valves.

Improvements at rest areas have resulted in water flow dropping by about a third at each facility. That means the equipment required to move and treat water has to run less frequently, cutting power use by about 25 percent. Meanwhile, reduced wastewater means less pressure on septic systems.

“We’re always looking for new ways to conserve water,” Wheeler said. “Our systems are evolving, and we’re staying open-minded when it means saving power and water.”

ADOT encourages members of the public to report any water waste they see on ADOT projects, at ADOT facilities and along state highways. Doing that is as simple as visiting azdot.gov/Contact and filling out a convenient online form or calling the phone number for General Non-Motor Vehicle Inquiries.

For more information on ADOT, please visit azdot.gov.

PHOENIX – The Painted Cliffs Rest Area on Interstate 40 near the New Mexico state line in northeastern Arizona has closed for a $2.7 million renovation that’s expected to be completed by early next year.

Work planned for the rest area, located at I-40 milepost 358, includes upgrades to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, replacing a water line, replacing the septic tanks and sewer lines, upgrading the electrical and mechanical systems, and painting.

During the closure, the nearest traveler facilities will be in Sanders and Holbrook. There are also facilities in New Mexico. More information can be found at nmroads.com.

Improvements at the Meteor Crater Rest Area on I-40 are scheduled after work is completed at the Painted Cliffs Rest Area.

PHOENIX ‒ The Sacaton Rest Area on Interstate 10 north of Casa Grande has reopened after a renovation that included upgrades to its restrooms, water lines, septic tanks, electrical and mechanical systems and paint, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The project is combined with one underway at the Interstate 19 Canoa Ranch Rest Area in southern Arizona. The total cost for both upgrades is $4.3 million.

Canoa Ranch Ranch Area, serving northbound I-19 travelers at kilometer 52 (milepost 32) and southbound at kilometer 54 (milepost 33), is scheduled to close Thursday, Nov. 8, for an estimated six months of similar work.

Sacaton Rest Area, serving eastbound travelers at milepost 181 and westbound travelers at milepost 184, is about 30 miles southeast of Phoenix near State Route 387. Other improvements completed there include upgrades to comply with the Americans with Disability Act and replacing a water supply line running from the westbound facility to the eastbound facility.

In recent years, ADOT has invested in repairing and replacing rest area infrastructure that has been in place for as long as 50 years. A renovation continues at the Interstate 40 Haviland Rest Area, serving both directions between mileposts 116 and 117 near Kingman. The Interstate 8 Mohawk Rest Area reopened in 2017 after a renovation, and in 2016 ADOT completed renovations of the I-10 Texas Canyon and San Simon rest areas between Tucson and the New Mexico line.

PHOENIX ‒ The Canoa Ranch Rest Area along Interstate 19 in southern Arizona is scheduled to close Thursday, Nov. 8, for a renovation lasting about six months.

Planned improvements include new paint, upgrades to the bathrooms and electrical and mechanical systems, and measures to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Earlier this year, Arizona Department of Transportation crews prepared to connect the Canoa Ranch Rest Area water system with the Community Water System of Green Valley. That connection will save the cost of digging new wells and will reduce the cost of future work.

The project is combined with one nearing completion at the Sacaton Rest Area on Interstate 10. The total cost for both upgrades is $4.3 million. The Canoa Ranch Rest Area is located at milepost 35, just north of the Canoa Ranch Road interchange.

The project follows others in recent years to upgrade ADOT rest areas that have been in place for as long as 50 years.

PHOENIX – If you’re among the many Arizonans taking to state highways over Labor Day weekend, please put down your phone and just drive.

To make it easier for drivers to make the safe choice, the Arizona Department of Transportation and GEICO encourage drivers to use rest areas as Safe Phone Zones. GEICO-branded signs call attention to ADOT rest areas as places to safely use mobile devices.

"Texting, surfing the web or using apps, even for what seems like a split second, endangers you, your passengers and others on the highway," ADOT Director John Halikowski said. "Pulling into a rest area is a great way to get off the road and safely use your smartphone or tablet."

GEICO has similar partnerships with Illinois, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Texas.

"We're proud of the longstanding safety partnership we have formed with the Arizona Department of Transportation," said Michelle Trindade, GEICO regional vice president. "We continue to urge drivers to put down their phones while behind the wheel. It's important for us to offer them alternatives like Safe Phone Zones where they can get connected out of harm's way."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, during daylight hours approximately 481,000 drivers across the country use their cellphones while driving, with teens the group most likely to be distracted at the time of a crash.

More facts and tips on ways to avoid distracted driving are available at SafePhoneZone.com as well as at GEICO More.

For more information about the Safe Phone Zones partnership and locations of Safe Phone Zones at Arizona rest stops, visit azdot.gov/SafePhoneZone.

To join the conversation on social media, use #GEICOSafePhoneZone.

PHOENIX – The Haviland Rest Area along Interstate 40 west of Kingman will close Wednesday, April 18, for a $3.6 million renovation that includes upgrading its restrooms and utilities.

The facilities in both directions along I-40 at milepost 23 are scheduled to reopen later this year before the holiday season.

While the rest area is closed, drivers can use facilities in Kingman.

More information on rest areas is available at azdot.gov/RestAreas.