The Cameron Truss Bridge, a 57-year-old structure that spans the Little Colorado River, is coming down soon…

The bridge removal is part of the US 89 Cameron roadway improvement project that we’ve been telling you about since last summer.

Construction started in March 2014 to widen US 89 from two lanes to four lanes through the community of Cameron within the Navajo Nation, approximately 50 miles north of Flagstaff.

Once complete, the work will result in a new four-lane divided highway (two lanes in each direction) through the community.

Removing the existing Cameron Truss Bridge and replacing it with two new bridges at that location is a major part of the project. Improvements also include constructing a roundabout at the existing intersection of US 89 and SR 64, new sidewalks, streetlights and four pedestrian/livestock underpasses through the 3.5-mile project.

Right now, crews are beginning the bridge removal, as you can see in the photos above.

They’ve already constructed the new northbound bridge, which is what both north- and southbound traffic is using now (the northbound bridge also has a pedestrian walkway). Once the old bridge is completely removed, crews will start working on building the new southbound bridge.

Project Supervisor Rick Schilke explains that removal of the old bridge will take about a month…

“We’re taking down a steel arch bridge … you don’t see a whole lot of those anymore,” said Schilke, adding that crews are beginning to remove the bridge deck. From there, they’ll cut the steel bridge into six pieces, each of which will be disassembled and hauled off site.

Motorists are reminded to drive with caution through the work zone and are advised to be alert for construction equipment and personnel when driving through this project site.

Find additional details on the project page.

We’ve got an update for you today on a project we first told you about last summer.

Work started about a year ago to expand US 89 from two lanes to four lanes through the community of Cameron within the Navajo Nation, about 60 miles north of Flagstaff.

As you can see in the video above, things are progressing...

“They’ve completed the roundabout at Highway 64 and US 89, so traffic’s utilizing that,” says project supervisor Rick Schilke in the video. “We finished up most of the northbound alignment, so we switched traffic onto the northbound so we can start the southbound.”

Work also includes the removal and replacement of the existing Cameron Truss Bridge with two new bridges (one going north and one headed south) at that location.

“The (new) bridge itself won’t be in use until probably the end of March,” Schilke says in the video. “It’s currently a two-lane bridge that was built in 1959. It’s a steel truss bridge that’s only 26-feet wide curb to curb and there’s no pedestrian walkways on it. The new bridge will be two 12-foot lanes with shoulders and a six-foot walkway on the east side and then, once that’s complete, we’ll take down the existing bridge all the way to below the surface and build an almost identical bridge without the walkway for southbound.”

Additional project improvements include new sidewalks, streetlights and four pedestrian/livestock underpasses.

See additional photos of the project on ADOT’s Flickr page.

Work is continuing on the US 89 Cameron roadway improvement project, up in northern Arizona.

In fact, as you can see from the photos above, crews are really making a lot of progress on the job. Before we tell you what’s been happening on the project, let us first give you some background…

This project kicked off in March and is designed to expand US 89 from two lanes to four lanes through the community of Cameron within the Navajo Nation, about 50 miles north of Flagstaff.

Major work includes the widening of US 89 to two lanes in each direction between State Route 64 and the Little Colorado River (mileposts 464-467) and the removal and replacement of the existing Cameron Truss Bridge with two new bridges (one going north and one headed south) at that location. Additional improvements include constructing a roundabout at the existing intersection of US 89 and SR 64, new sidewalks, streetlights and four pedestrian/livestock underpasses.

Currently, crews are working to open the new roundabout by the end of this year.

The new bridge is also progressing. Crews are getting ready to pour the deck over the next month. Once that is complete and cured (a two-month process), work on the barrier, joints, surface grooving, lighting, fencing, guard rail, paving and striping will take place into late March/early April.

If you live or drive in the area, you’ll be interested to know that the new lights will be turned on soon for the east half of the project (you might also have noticed that artwork on the pedestrian underpasses!).

More details

The project is scheduled to be complete by fall 2016. Drivers can expect at least one travel lane to remain open during construction. This project is being constructed in two phases. During the second phase of construction all traffic will be moved onto the newly constructed roadway, which is anticipated to be completed summer 2015.