SR 260

ADOT reopens White Mountains-area highways for summer season

ADOT reopens White Mountains-area highways for summer season

ADOT reopens White Mountains-area highways for summer season

April 20, 2023

SR 273 and SR 261 lead to Sunrise Park, Big Lake

PHOENIX – With springtime and warmer weather here, two White Mountains-area state highways reopened Thursday, April 20, after being closed for the winter, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

State Route 261 runs from State Route 260 near Eagar to Big Lake, while State Route 273 goes from SR 260 to Sunrise Park and Big Lake.

State Route 473, running south from SR 260 on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, is scheduled to reopen on Friday, April 21.

ADOT encourages motorists to enjoy the mountains this summer and return home safely by observing the following tips:

Make sure you and your passengers are buckled in.
Check your vehicle before you go; proper tire pressure is important.
Be patient (don’t speed and don’t follow other vehicles too closely).
Get an adequate amount of sleep before your trip.
Bring extra water and food.
Build some extra travel time into your schedule.
Never drink and drive.
Before you leave, check for information about highway restrictions across Arizona at ADOT’s Traveler Information website, az511.gov or dial 511.

Safety improvement project to restrict SR 260 for 5 months between Payson, Heber

Safety improvement project to restrict SR 260 for 5 months between Payson, Heber

Safety improvement project to restrict SR 260 for 5 months between Payson, Heber

August 4, 2022

PAYSON - Motorists traveling on State Route 260 between Heber-Overgaard and Payson should plan for daytime delays of up to 30 minutes for the next five months as the Arizona Department of Transportation works on a roadway safety improvement project.

The project will require crews to narrow the highway to a single lane east of Christopher Creek, with work scheduled Mondays through Thursdays from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Restrictions are scheduled to begin Monday, Aug. 8 and continue through Dec. 30 roughly between Old Rim Road and Aspen Lane, which is from mileposts 282-305.

Crews will narrow one mile of the highway at any given time during the project.

The $24.9 million project will improve safety along a 21-mile stretch of SR 260 by widening the shoulders on both sides of the highway. The project, in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration, will also include guardrail improvements, better drainage, spot pavement repairs and restriping the roadway.

During work hours, flaggers and a pilot car will guide drivers through the work zone, where the speed limit will be reduced to 25 mph. A 14-foot vehicle restriction will be in place, while wider loads can be accommodated with 12 hours notice.

The project is expected to continue through the fall of 2024. For more information, please visit azdot.gov/260-Rim

ADOT to improve safety along 22 miles of SR 260 near Heber-Overgaard

ADOT to improve safety along 22 miles of SR 260 near Heber-Overgaard

ADOT to improve safety along 22 miles of SR 260 near Heber-Overgaard

May 24, 2022

HEBER-OVERGAARD, AZ – Starting this week, the Arizona Department of Transportation will begin a project along a 22-mile stretch of State Route 260 west of Heber-Overgaard to improve roadway safety.

The improvement project includes increasing the shoulder-width on each side of the highway by 5 feet, making guardrail improvements, extending and improving drainage systems and making pavement repairs.

Work will begin near Heber-Overgaard at Shore Bridge Trail at milepost 305, and crews will move west toward Rim Road at milepost 282.

Beginning this week through June 3, drivers near Heber-Overgaard can expect SR 260 to be narrowed to one lane only with alternating east- and westbound travel between Forest Road 210 and Shore Bridge Trail from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and 5 a.m. to noon Fridays. No weekend work is scheduled.

Flaggers and a pilot car will guide drivers through the work zone.

Crews will work in segments of several miles at a time along the 22-mile project area. Work is expected to be completed in the fall of 2024.

Also starting later this summer is a project to improve pavement along 10 miles of SR 260 from milepost 272, which is about 20 miles east of the junction with SR 87 in Payson, and Old Rim Road at milepost 283. The project includes removing the existing pavement and replacing it with new asphalt.

For more information, visit azdot.gov/260-Rim.

A flowery blog for the merry month of May

A flowery blog for the merry month of May

A flowery blog for the merry month of May

By John LaBarbera / ADOT Communications

May 6, 2022

You know the old saying: April showers bring May flowers. Well, most of Arizona didn’t get much in the way of showers this April, but since May is finally here, it naturally got us thinking about flowers…the only way we know how.

Did you know that several Arizona highways can bring you into locales named for various types of flora?

Let’s start with an easy one. State Route 87 passes through the community of Sunflower. You’ll find it about halfway between Payson and Mesa. Farther north on State Route 87 are the neighboring communities of Pine and Strawberry.

Speaking of pine, it’s quite prolific in the northern part of our state. On State Route 260, you will pass by Pinedale, Pinetop and Indian Pine.

Being Arizona, it's no surprise that motorists may see cactus-themed names on their travels. US 191 features a locale south of Stafford called Cactus Flat. And the small community of Cactus Forest lies just south of Florence on State Route 79.

Speaking of Florence, that name itself comes from the Latin florens, meaning blossoming, flourishing.

Lastly, there is Cactus Road, a street that covers 36 miles across the Valley, crossing Loop 303, Loop 101 (twice!), I-17 and State Route 51.

While not a specific genus, you’ll pass through Flower Pot on Interstate 17 near the junction of State Route 169. Further up I-17, you can take a detour on State Route 260 and soon find yourself in the City of Cottonwood. Of course, Cottonwood was named after the various hard to distinguish trees and shrubs that pop up ubiquitously in the Verde Valley.

The historic Route 66 name lives on in the northwestern part of our state. Turn onto State Route 66 from Interstate 40 and pass through the village of Hackberry, which was named for the nearby Hackberry Mine which, in turn, was named after the hackberry tree.

Finally, take a trip on Interstate 8 and visit Dateland, home of the famous date shake.

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ADOT to complete repaving US 60, SR 260 in Show Low

ADOT to complete repaving US 60, SR 260 in Show Low

ADOT to complete repaving US 60, SR 260 in Show Low

April 7, 2022

SHOW LOW – With warmer temperatures returning, the Arizona Department of Transportation will resume repaving 11 miles of US 60 and SR 260 in Show Low on Sunday, April 10.

The projects, which started last summer, include repaving US 60, known locally as Deuce of Clubs Avenue, from milepost 336, just outside the Show Low city limits, to Adams Street. Crews are also repaving SR 260, known locally as White Mountain Boulevard, from US 60 to Wagon Wheel Road.

Work will occur overnight from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday evenings and continuing through Friday mornings. Drivers can expect intermittent east- and westbound lane closures. One travel lane will remain open in each direction while the overnight work is taking place. Motorists should be prepared for delays of up to 20 minutes during overnight work.

Lane restrictions will not be in place during daytime hours or weekends, and business access will be maintained at all times during construction.

The projects are scheduled to be completed late fall 2022.

For more information on paving US 60 and SR 260 in Show Low, visit azdot.gov/ShowLow.

During the past five years, ADOT spent approximately $507 million on pavement preservation projects across the state.

Innovation paving the way near Show Low - literally

Innovation paving the way near Show Low - literally

Innovation paving the way near Show Low - literally

By David Rookhuyzen / ADOT Communications

June 15, 2021

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus, who died in roughly 475 B.C.E., is said to have been the originator of the phrase "the only constant in life is change."

And while that thought seems fine for philosophy books, what does it have to do with transportation?

Well, it turns out that you can find change and new approaches in even a common task like paving a road.

Let's take ADOT's project on US 60 and State Route 260 at Show Low, for example. The work, which kicked off on June 1, will remove and replace a total of 11 miles along US 60 and SR 260 near Show Low, in addition to curb and gutter, sidewalk and guardrail work.

So what's so innovative about that? Because, for this project, ADOT is using a relatively new type of pavement that will improve the road life. In layman's terms, the paving is more dense than what has been used in the past, achieved through greater compaction and a reduction in small air bubbles found in the mixture. This in turn makes it more durable and resistant to things such as rutting, cracking and moisture intrusion.

Bottom line: That could expand the life of the driving surface by years.

And if you need another reason to get excited about this, we have you covered. Because ADOT is using this new type of paving, it successfully applied for federal innovation funding. With those new dollars, the federal share of the $16 million project went up 5 percent to 99.3 percent. That means roughly an extra $800,000 is being covered by federal funds.

This isn't the first time ADOT has used this new type of paving, and there are more projects scheduled to utilize it moving forward.

While we're pretty sure Heraclitus wasn't thinking specifically about paving a road when he talked about change, but improvements like what's happening near Show Low still help prove the 2,500-year old thinker right.

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SR 260 is nearly 200 miles of gorgeous scenery

SR 260 is nearly 200 miles of gorgeous scenery

SR 260 is nearly 200 miles of gorgeous scenery

By David Rookhuyzen / ADOT Communications

May 14, 2021

If there is one thing Arizona is not lacking, it's scenic roads.

Just off the top of our heads there is State Route 89A from Sedona to Flagstaff; State Route 82 between Nogales and Whetstone, US 60 from Superior to Globe, US 180 from Flagstaff to State Route 64 ... we could go on and on.

Among some of the truly spectacular drives out there, there are few roads that are as uniformally scenic as State Route 260.

Starting in Cottonwood, this 193-mile highway runs from the aptly named Verde Valley before heading up in elevation again to hit the picturesque communities of Strawberry and Pine before reaching that gateway to northeast Arizona's high country, Payson. Along the way, and then as it continues on to Heber-Overgaard, the road offers gorgeous views of the Mogollon Rim. Finally it runs through Show Low and on to Eager, displaying the natural beauty that is the White Mountains.

Though many portions of this frequently traveled highway are definitively modern, the origins of some of its oldest parts reach deep into Arizona history.

You can read more on our website's section of historic roads, but the genesis of SR 260 goes back to the beginning of the 1870s when General George Crook wished to connect isolated army posts located at modern Camp Verde and south of present-day Show Low and McNary. This "General Crook Trail" would serve to both keep supplies moving and seal off the rim country to the Apaches he was campaigning against.

Fun fact, the mule crew hired to construct the road toward Heber was headed by Corydon Cooley, the winner of the eponymous card draw contest that named the city of Show Low.

During this same decade, other roads would be constructed to connect the fort with suppliers in communities such as McNary and Springerville. The section running between those two communities would be added to the state highway system in 1928 as State Route 73. The section built by Cooley and his teams, running between Heber and Show Low would become State Route 260 in 1955.

Modern State Route 260 began to really form following World War II, when Arizona's population was taking off. The route along the Mogollon Rim - originally called State Route 160 - was assembled mainly from existing forest roads, with paving completed between Payson and Show Low by 1974 after 14 years of construction. This newly completed highway, along with the completion of the Beeline Highway between Phoenix and Payson, opened up the Rim country to tourists from southern Arizona.

The final freeway numbering is something of a jumbled mess of forgotten highway numbers and dates (which the truly interested reader can find here), but suffice it to say that in the 1970s the State Route 260 numbering was commissioned between Payson and Show Low and by the middle of the decade the whole stretch to Eager had been renumbered. However, it wouldn't be until the 1990s that the road to Camp Verde and then to Cottonwood would be added into this highway, erasing the former State Route 279 designation.

All of this is just a long-winded way of saying today that you can take a nearly 200-mile trip up between one beautiful spot in the state to another beautiful spot, with a lot of beautiful spots in between.

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Quick-acting maintenance crew returns lost dog to owners

Quick-acting maintenance crew returns lost dog to owners

Quick-acting maintenance crew returns lost dog to owners

May 31, 2019

Early in the morning on Sunday, May 19, ADOT Maintenance Supervisor Brett Rupp was driving west on SR 260 along the Mogollon Rim east of Payson when he spotted something out of the ordinary. A Shetland sheepdog, more commonly referred to as a Sheltie, was headed in the opposite direction along the highway shoulder.

Immediately recognizing the dog didn’t belong there, Rupp radioed his crew for help.

He stopped and tried to get Wrigley, the dog's name, but she crossed to the median of the highway.

The rest of the crew – Scott Umbenhauer, Casey Bramlet, Shane Reynolds, and Bobby Millard – arrived on scene. Working together, the team spread out along both sides of the highway and managed to capture Wrigley and get her to safety.

Calling the phone number on Wrigley’s collar, the crew got in touch with the owners and arranged to meet them at the Ponderosa Campground where the family was staying.

It turns out Wrigley escaped from the family camping site around 4:30 p.m. the day before. After a late night and early morning of searching and following leads with no results, the Pacini family began to fear the worst had happened to their furry family member – that is until they received a phone call from the ADOT crew about 7:15 that morning.

“We couldn’t have gotten better news when the ADOT crew told us they had her,” said John Pacini, Wrigley’s owner. “We are so grateful to the ADOT workers who took the time to rescue our dog. It may seem like a small act of kindness, but to me and my family, it is a huge event.”

The workers were just glad they were in the right place at the right time.

“We’re glad we were able to return the dog to its family,” said Rupp. “Whether it’s a lost dog or a stranded motorist, we’re happy to help when we can.”

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ADOT to finish State Route 260 widening project in Camp Verde

ADOT to finish State Route 260 widening project in Camp Verde

ADOT to finish State Route 260 widening project in Camp Verde

April 4, 2019

PHOENIX – After a wet and cold fall that forced an early winter hiatus, the Arizona Department of Transportation is set to return later this month to complete a State Route 260 widening project that will enhance travel and mobility between Camp Verde and Cottonwood.

Starting April 17, crews will begin laying the final layer of asphalt along the widened 9-mile stretch of SR 260. Paving will take about two weeks and require lane closures in each direction while crews work.

After paving is complete, crews will add permanent lane stripes, rumble strips and pavement reflectors. In all, the work is expected to take about six weeks.

The $62 million project widened SR 260 between Interstate 17 and Thousand Trails Road to a four-lane divided highway and added seven roundabouts to major intersections, including two new locations for future development.

The widening project also added a multiuse path between Wilshire and Cherry Creek roads and a new bridge over Cherry Creek.

For more information on this project, visit azdot.gov/projects and click on North Central District.

State Route 260 project heading to winter hiatus with major work finished

State Route 260 project heading to winter hiatus with major work finished

State Route 260 project heading to winter hiatus with major work finished

November 8, 2018

PHOENIX – Due to a colder, wetter October than anticipated, final work on the State Route 260 widening project between Camp Verde and Cottonwood will take place next spring, including putting down the final pavement layer known as a friction course.

However, the Arizona Department of Transportation was able to complete all major work on the $62 million project this year. In the 9-mile stretch, crews constructed two lanes in each direction separated by a median, opened seven roundabouts at major intersections and completed a new bridge over Cherry Creek near Cherry Creek Road.

All lanes and roundabouts between Interstate 17 and Thousand Trails Road will be open to traffic before the project shuts down for the winter. There will be no construction-related restrictions in place.

Original plans called for the final layer of pavement to go in before winter hiatus, followed by permanent lane striping in the spring. After unusually wet weather from remnants of Hurricane Rosa combined with a drop in temperatures, both of these final steps will be completed in the spring.

The road surface needs to be around 85 degrees in order for new pavement to cure properly.

ADOT’s contractor had begun preparing the roadway for the final pavement layer when weather conditions forced the decision to finish next year. As a result, the road surface, while smooth and safe to drive on, will be a bit noisier than it otherwise would with the final pavement layer.

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