PHOENIX – An Arizona Department of Transportation program that helps truck drivers in Mexico better understand and prepare for safety inspections at the border is using technology to provide virtual training during the current public health situation.

The goal of this training offered by ADOT’s Border Liaison Unit is reducing commercial vehicle wait times at the international border by cutting down on safety problems and other issues that truck drivers must address before leaving commercial ports of entry. That helps make Arizona’s ports more appealing places for trucks to enter the U.S.

Part of ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division, which operates commercial ports of entry, the Border Liaison Unit offered its first training by webinar recently for 30 trucking companies from the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California. More sessions are planned.

“The webinar was a huge success,” said Officer Frank Cordova of the Border Liaison Unit. “We’re looking to make webinar-based workshops a staple of the training we provide, as it allows us to reach even further into Mexico and the U.S. to continue educating the commercial industry.”

The Border Liaison Unit saw an increase in inquiries from Mexican truckers regarding current emergency restrictions and exemptions for commercial vehicles due to COVID-19. Future sessions will cover safety training previously conducted in person such as electronic log books and critical items officers look for in inspections.

That assistance complements International Border Inspection Qualification training that ADOT has offered in person since 2016. Drivers certified through that program are able to share questions and pictures of their vehicles via WhatsApp and communicate with ADOT officers about potential safety issues before driving to the border.  

Meeting this demand with a webinar helps ADOT officers and commercial truck drivers observe social distancing. Longer-term, offering virtual instruction reduces travel expenses.

“I’m very proud of this unit for finding ways to continue to work with our local and international partners in the trucking industry,” Cordova said. “Even a pandemic won’t keep us from doing the job we’re passionate about.” 

PHOENIX – For ADOT, National Work Zone Awareness Week is always a big deal. It means more this year.

Last month, one of our own, Frank Dorizio, was struck and killed in a work zone on Interstate 10 south of Phoenix. A member of ADOT’s Incident Response Unit, Dorizio was setting up traffic control for a pavement project.

“Every day in Arizona, hundreds of men and women step into work zones on our highways, their place of work for the day, to build, maintain and improve our roadways,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “Like everyone, they deserve a safe work environment, and National Work Zone Awareness Week gives us the opportunity to remind drivers that they must make safe decisions when approaching and driving in a work zone. Because if they don’t, people can die.” 

While ADOT mourns Dorizio, the first ADOT worker since 1998 to be struck and killed while working along a highway, too many crashes are occurring in work zones across Arizona. From 2017 to 2019, 3,540 collisions in work zones resulted in 49 fatalities on Arizona roadways. 

These are preventable crashes, and, in most incidents, those killed are vehicle occupants. According to national statistics, annually, more than 80% of those killed in crashes that occurred in work zones were vehicle drivers or passengers.

Making smarter decisions when approaching and driving in work zones will not only keep road workers and vehicle occupants safer, it will keep roads open and in peak condition. That’s incredibly important in the current public health situation. ADOT crews continue working to keep roadways open for all who use the state highway system, including commercial trucks carrying needed supplies to our homes, stores and hospitals. 

“The people of Arizona rely on ADOT to keep their highways safe and open,” said Dallas Hammit, ADOT’s state engineer and deputy director for transportation. “Our crews continue to work on roadways, building, improving and responding to incidents. To drivers, we say, ‘Help us help you.’ Make safe decisions when driving so all of us can return home at the end of the day.”

Drivers can make work zones safer by following these tips:

• Pay attention: Observe and obey posted warning signs, as well as flaggers. You can be cited for disobeying a flagger’s directions.
• Drive alert: Speed limits might be lowered, travel lanes could be narrowed or eliminated, and people may be working near your travel lane.
• Slow down: Speeding is one of the leading causes of work zone crashes.
• Merge safely: Do it carefully and as directed by signage.
• Don’t tailgate: The most common crash in a work zone is the rear-end collision. Don’t follow too closely.

For more information about work zone safety, please visit FocusOnDriving.com.

PHOENIX – To enhance safety and accommodate growth in Prescott Valley, the Arizona Department of Transportation will make improvements along 2.2 miles of State Route 69 between Navajo Drive and Enterprise Parkway. 

Starting Monday, April 20, crews will begin constructing a raised median along the corridor. The project also includes initial work for a future traffic signal at Mendecino Drive and future improvements at Truwood Drive, both of which intersect with SR 69 in this stretch.

“This project will continue the agency’s work to smooth traffic flow in a growing area such as central Yavapai County,” said Alvin Stump, district engineer for ADOT’s Northwest District. “In recent years, we have adjusted the traffic signal timing, which cut down on travel times through the corridor, and now we look to build on that with this safety project.”

Drivers should plan for lane restrictions from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights. All lanes will be open during daytime and weekend hours and holidays.

Raised medians have been shown to reduce crashes by up to 40 percent in urban areas according to an analysis by the Federal Highway Administration.

The traffic signal at Mendecino Drive will be completed in a future project.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has reallocated more than 2,600 N95 respirator masks to two state-operated assisted care facilities to help address a need for personal protective equipment during the current health situation.

ADOT delivered 1,440 masks to the Arizona State Veteran Home in Phoenix and 1,200 masks to the Arizona Pioneers’ Home in Prescott following a call for the protective gear from the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and Governor Doug Ducey.

“We knew there was a shortage in the medical community, so we made these available to the other state agencies that had a more critical need,” said Sonya Herrera, director of ADOT’s Administrative Services Division.

Until receiving the donation, the Arizona Pioneers’ Home had only a small supply of the protective gear remaining for a staff that cares for pioneers and retired miners.

“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart on behalf of the Arizona Pioneers' Home for your donation of masks,” Director of Nursing Jamie Suffriti said in a note to ADOT. “I am beyond grateful over the support ADOT has provided us! You are helping to save lives and keep the staff and our residents safe. I am and will always be grateful.”

ADOT had purchased the personal protective equipment during a previous viral outbreak and quickly evaluated its inventory when learning of the current demand for the medical-grade masks.

“We truly appreciate ADOT's quick response to our need for more N95 masks,” Arizona State Veteran Home Administrator Kimberly Trotta said. “Through this critical time, we are encouraged by the kindness shown to us as we continue to care for our veterans.”

As with many other professions, ADOT’s staff and construction contractors are working to abide by guidance from the Arizona Department of Health Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including social distancing and a recommendation to wear cloth face coverings in public places. 

To learn more about ADOT’s efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit azdot.gov/covid-19-resource-center.

PHOENIX – “Camera 712.”

With that announcement, Arizona Department of Public Safety Trooper Robb Brown alerts others at the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Traffic Operations Center to a ladder reported on the Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway near Dobson. Operating the camera by remote control, Brown quickly finds the ladder in the eastbound right lane, then calls that out too.

“Do you have signs?” Neil Barker asks fellow ADOT traffic dispatcher Kate Buckmaster.

“Getting them now,” Buckmaster replies. 

A few clicks of a keyboard and mouse, and digital message boards activate along eastbound Loop 202, warning drivers of debris in the right lanes. 

It’s around 4 p.m., one of the busier times of day at the Traffic Operations Center, located near the Interstate 17 Durango Curve in Phoenix. But the control room dynamics would be the same at any hour: ADOT and AZDPS working together to alert motorists to potential dangers, mobilize ADOT personnel and state troopers, and make sure the public knows what’s up via the Arizona Traveler Information site (az511.gov), the 511 phone system and social media.

Amid the current public health situation, that 24/7 presence at the Traffic Operations Center is helping keep the public safe, mobile and informed.

“We’re the nucleus for transportation information, both receiving and transmitting that information,” said Derek Arnson, who oversees the Traffic Operations Center as ADOT’s Traffic Management Group manager. “With our cameras and message boards, the TOC is important to the success of the state economically and to getting people where they need to go.”

Based on the many TV news live shots set here, you’re likely familiar with the Traffic Operations Center’s wall of monitors that can display up to 40 camera views at one time. Usually, one feed goes across four monitors, creating a display with 10 views from ADOT cameras along freeways in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. 

But the real action in the control room lies with Brown, Barker, Buckmaster and others dedicated to getting Arizonans safely home.

On this afternoon, one of Buckmaster’s duties is overseeing the overhead message boards and making sure incidents are entered into a reporting system that logs them and populates 511.

Barker is working with ADOT’s Incident Response Unit sponsored by State Farm, which has staff patrolling Valley freeways to clear minor crashes, remove debris and set up traffic control to help keep traffic moving and reduce the chances of secondary crashes.

ADOT dispatchers at the Traffic Operations Center usually divide the state into rural and metro calls, with one person supervising each. If traffic is heavy, those on shift jump in to help wherever needed to light up overhead message boards, dispatch units or log incidents.

Problems like crashes and debris are fairly common. But during this afternoon rush hour, ADOT dispatchers also send a unit to make sure an on-ramp crash didn’t damage a ramp meter and look out for a pedestrian reported walking along a freeway.

Since 2015, an AZDPS trooper has been stationed at the Traffic Operations Center around the clock to help locate crashes and help coordinate that agency’s response to incidents. In addition, there’s always an ADOT public information officer on duty to get the latest out via the agency’s social media channels, primarily Twitter (@ArizonaDOT), and respond to traffic-related questions from the public and news media.  

Nearly an hour after the ladder was called in, Brown happens to notice traffic slowing on a camera. He pulls up another camera close by and finds the HOV lane on northbound Interstate 17 blocked due to a multi-vehicle crash.The view from camera 411 goes up on the front wall.

“I’ll put signs up,” Buckmaster says.

Barker leans over to a radio microphone: “6-Tom units copy traffic,” and an Incident Response Unit member responds.

It’s not uncommon during the evening commute for the wall to be full of crashes the dispatchers are constantly monitoring.

The I-17 crash doesn’t block traffic for long. As the camera shows the vehicles moving out of the travel lanes, there’s another round of announcements.

Buckmaster says overhead signs are coming down. Brown verifies that troopers have taken the involved parties to a city street. Barker clears Incident Response Unit.

And then it’s back to monitoring until the next incident occurs.

PHOENIX – Beginning Wednesday, motorists on Arizona highways will see messages on Dynamic Message Signs encouraging them to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The Arizona Department of Transportation’s overhead message boards will rotate messages daily that encourage social distancing, like avoiding crowds and limiting travel, and good hygiene, like washing hands and covering coughs.

“Arizona continues to take proactive measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and safety of Arizona citizens,” said Governor Doug Ducey. “These messages reflect guidance from public health professionals and will help us keep Arizonans informed during this time.”

The messages will be displayed indefinitely on ADOT’s 291 overhead message boards statewide.

For more information about what Arizona is doing during the COVID-19 outbreak, visit ArizonaTogether.org, which serves as the central location for Arizonans to find help or provide support. Arizonans can also call the Arizona COVID-19 Hotline by dialing 211. The hotline will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

PHOENIX – Pavement repairs continue, as do highway construction and improvement projects. For long-haul drivers delivering essential goods, rest areas offer truck parking and facilities. Crews patrol Phoenix-area freeways to quickly clear crashes and help stranded motorists.

Along nearly 7,000 miles of state highways, Arizona Department of Transportation employees continue providing a safe and reliable transportation system as part of the state’s pandemic response.

“Throughout it all, ADOT staff – from every corner of the state – remain committed to supporting the people of Arizona and those who are moving critical goods into and through our state,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “We remain committed to supporting Governor Ducey and his leadership as we navigate this situation together, as a state.”

ADOT’s Motor Vehicle Division is continuing to assist customers and protect employees by limiting office visits to those needing transactions that must be done in person and by offering those visits by appointment only. Meanwhile, most motor vehicle transactions don’t require an office visit and can be performed at any time by visiting ServiceArizona.com.

At ADOT’s Traffic Operations Center, dispatchers are on duty 24/7 to monitor the freeways and highways across the state for incidents, deploy personnel as needed to keep traffic moving and share critical information on overhead message boards. ADOT’s social media channels, including Twitter (@ArizonaDOT), are real-time sources of information and interaction. Information on highway conditions is available at any time by visiting ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov or calling 511.

ADOT’s rest areas remain open with crews providing heightened sanitary protocols such as more frequent cleanings and regularly disinfecting frequently touched surfaces such as door handles, sinks and faucets. Rest areas are especially important to commercial drivers who use truck parking there to get their required rest.

At ADOT’s commercial ports of entry, officers and other staff handling safety inspections and permitting are helping the Arizona Department of Public Safety support the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's emergency declaration providing regulatory relief for trucks involved in emergency assistance.

Around the state, maintenance crews are repairing pavement and guardrails, removing rockfall and performing other work to keep highways operating safely. ADOT construction and improvement projects are moving forward as well, with no anticipated disruptions.

On Valley freeways, members of ADOT’s Incident Response Unit are on patrol to assist motorists and quickly clear crashes, helping to reduce the chance of secondary crashes by getting traffic moving.

From job sites to offices, ADOT employees are observing social distancing guidelines and taking precautions such as workers using the same vehicles every day. Many meetings involving groups are moving to video conferencing or conference calls.

ADOT is also exploring virtual options for public meetings and public hearings on highway projects and studies. With the public comment period for ADOT’s Tentative Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program underway, the public can provide input via an online form at azdot.gov/tentative5year, by email at fiveyearconstructionprogram@azdot.gov and by phone at 855.712.8530. The public comment period lasts from March 20 through 5 p.m. on June 2.