SR 264

Paving project beginning on SR 264 east of Tuba City

Paving project beginning on SR 264 east of Tuba City

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Paving project beginning on SR 264 east of Tuba City

Paving project beginning on SR 264 east of Tuba City

May 2, 2023

Drivers should plan for extra travel time

TUBA CITY – The Arizona Department of Transportation will begin two improvement projects on State Route 264 near Tuba City (mileposts 360-374) starting Monday, May 8.

Crews will be working to replace the pavement and restripe the roadway as part of the improvement project along SR 264.

Drivers should expect lane restrictions in both directions while the pavement improvement work is underway. Restrictions will be lifted each day after hours and on weekends.

ADOT recommends allowing extra travel time and being prepared to slow down, stay alert and merge safely when approaching and traveling through the work zones. 

For more information, visit the project webpage.

Additionally, crews will be installing a pedestrian pathway with lighting that leads to the Hopi Cultural Center (mileposts 379-380). There will be no traffic restrictions or closures as part of this project.

For more information, please visit the project webpage.

Both projects are expected to be completed by fall 2023.

 

ADOT to begin pavement preservation on SR 264 near Window Rock

ADOT to begin pavement preservation on SR 264 near Window Rock

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT to begin pavement preservation on SR 264 near Window Rock

ADOT to begin pavement preservation on SR 264 near Window Rock

July 14, 2022

WINDOW ROCK, AZ – The Arizona Department of Transportation is starting a pavement preservation project on State Route 264 near Window Rock on Monday, July 18, to create a smoother ride for drivers.

This $7.2 million project will include removing the existing surface pavement and replacing it with new asphalt, making spot pavement repairs and restriping the roadway. The work will cover an 11-mile stretch of SR 264 from mileposts 465 to 476 at the New Mexico state line.

During the project, drivers can expect lane restrictions and flagging operations to move through the work zone. Drivers should slow down and watch for construction personnel and equipment.

The project is expected to be completed this fall.

State Route 264 serves as the main highway connecting east-west traffic to the capital of the Navajo Nation in Window Rock. 

For more information, visit azdot.gov/projects and click on the Northeast District.

ADOT to replace Moenkopi Wash Bridge deck near Tuba City

ADOT to replace Moenkopi Wash Bridge deck near Tuba City

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT to replace Moenkopi Wash Bridge deck near Tuba City

ADOT to replace Moenkopi Wash Bridge deck near Tuba City

April 15, 2022

TUBA CITY, AZ – Drivers near Tuba City need to prepare as the Arizona Department of Transportation begins a project to rehabilitate the Moenkopi Wash Bridge along State Route 264.

The bridge, located two miles east of the junction with US 160 in Tuba City, will receive a new bridge deck as well as new approaches creating a smooth transition on and off the bridge. Work will begin on Monday, April 18.

SR 264 will be reduced to one lane of alternating east- and westbound travel through the construction zone. Temporary traffic signals and concrete barriers will be used to control traffic through the work zone. Traffic will be shifted as the bridge deck is completed one half at a time.

Other work includes minor repairs to the bridge abutments, replacing guardrails and erosion prevention measures.

The $3.7 million project is expected to be completed by this fall.

This cliffhanger is a real blast!

This cliffhanger is a real blast!

SR24-1

This cliffhanger is a real blast!

This cliffhanger is a real blast!

By Laurie Merrill / ADOT Communications
August 26, 2021

Keams Canyon Boulder Removal (July 2021)

It’s rare to come across a real-life cliffhanger.

It’s also not often that the word “blast” actually means explosion.

But today’s blog gives you the true meaning of both words.

The scene: State Route 264 in Second Mesa at milepost 378

The time: Early July, 2021

Key players: The Keams Canyon Maintenance Unit and a contractor

What’s at stake: A large boulder is on a ledge hanging over the highway below.

Here’s where our blog begins:

Tucked in the northeastern corner of Arizona, Second Mesa is known for finely woven Hopi clothing, brightly colored yucca baskets and the three villages that comprise it, Shongopovi, Sipaulovi and Mishongnovi.

It sits more than 5,700 feet high alongside steep cliff walls on SR 264 just east of State Route 87, an area where strong storms can push large boulders onto the highway.

Removing boulders on the road is old hat for the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Keams Maintenance Unit, which typically makes short work of such work using jackhammers and loaders. 

It was in June that crews spotted the unstable boulder. They were removing another rock on the same area of SR 264 at the time.

“This rock boulder was sitting on the ledge and potentially was going to come down at some point,” said Elliott Koinva, Keams Canyon highway operations supervisor.

It needed extra incentive to budge, which is why ADOT hired a contractor to blast this boulder into smaller pieces.

The work was captured by our photographers and you can see the results in the FlickR album above.

This is what happened:

  • Keams maintenance provided traffic control and lay down a two-foot layer of dirt below the unstable rock.  
  • Crews shut down the road.
  • Adams Contracting drilled three vertically aligned holes and used explosives to blast the boulder (watch a quick video of the blast) into pieces. 
  • Keams crews removed them safely from the highway.

“Kudos to the Keams Canyon Maintenance unit for a successful and safe boulder removal operation,” said Northeast District Engineer Ed Wilson.

SR 264 is not alone in needing boulder maintenance. Here's information about a project beginning on State Route 80 near Bisbee

Highways in northeastern Arizona honor Native American veterans

Highways in northeastern Arizona honor Native American veterans

SR24-1

Highways in northeastern Arizona honor Native American veterans

Highways in northeastern Arizona honor Native American veterans

By David Rookhuyzen / ADOT Communications
November 11, 2020

Street View images © 2020 Google. Clockwise from top left: US 89 NB near Cameron, US 160 EB near Kayenta, SR 264 near Second Mesa, and SR 264 WB near Ganado.

Veterans Day has been a federally observed holiday since 1954, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed it and expanded its observance from the earlier World War I-focused Armistice Day to a larger acknowledgement of all those who have fought in the U.S. Armed Services. 

"In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose," Eisenhower wrote in his first Veterans Day Proclamation.

We heartily agree with that sentiment, which is why several years back we highlighted how more highways than you might think are named to honor veterans.

But since we wrote that, a few more highways in northern Arizona have been added to the list, but with a more specific – and appropriate – focus.

In 2019, a joint resolution of the Arizona State Senate named portions of US 89, State Route 264 and US 160 to honor the Native American veterans who have served so ably in the miltiary. The resolution provided those highways be renamed as follows:

  • US 89 between Flagstaff and the Utah state line is designated the "Native American Veterans Highway."
  • The portion of State Route 264 that runs through the Navajo Reservation is designated the "Navajo Code Talker Highway," while the portion on the Hopi Reservation is designated the "Hopi Code Talker Highway."
  • US 160 between the junction with US 89 and the New Mexico state line is designated "Native American Women Veterans Highway."

The resolution provides ample reasons for naming these highways for Native American veterans including:

  • "Native Americans have served in wars involving the United States from Valley Forge to the hostilities in Afghanistan and Iraq; and ... with the highest record of military service of any group in the United States."
  • "Navajo Marine Corps radio operators, who became known as as the 'Navajo Code Talkers,' developed an unbreakable code using their nation's language to communicate military messages."
  • "Ten Hopi men developed a code language that they used to assist United States army intelligence in the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia and the Philippines during World War II."
  • "Fourteen Native American women served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War I ... 800 Native American women served in the military from 1941 to 1945; and ... nearly 3,900 among 1.4 million active duty military are Native American women."

Whereever you are this Veterans Day, we hope you are remembering those who served. But if you happen to be in the area of Page, Tuba City, First Mesa, Ganado or otherwise on the state highway system in northeastern Arizona, this is a good time to remember how Native Americans have contributed to the country's military history. 

SR 87 tanker rollover scene cleared, SR 264 reopened after washout

SR 87 tanker rollover scene cleared, SR 264 reopened after washout

SR24-1

SR 87 tanker rollover scene cleared, SR 264 reopened after washout

SR 87 tanker rollover scene cleared, SR 264 reopened after washout

September 13, 2012

To say that ADOT crews were busy Tuesday would be a bit of an understatement.

Heavy overnight and morning rains across the state started the day off with extremely slow commutes throughout the metro areas … but nothing like the messes that would happen later in the day …

First off, an oil tanker overturned on State Route 87 about 30 miles south of Payson, pouring approximately 2,000 gallons of emulsified asphalt across travel lanes in both directions. As you can see in the video above and the slide show below, the ensuing cleanup efforts were, to quote our own PIO, “a big gooey mess.”

North- and southbound lanes were closed at about 11:30 a.m. as 50+ crew members from three agencies — ADOT, DPS and Arizona Department of Environmental Quality — and the private cleanup company hired by the responsible party (the company that owns the tanker and employs the driver) worked to clear the road and prevent the hazardous materials from spreading into nearby Slate Creek.

Southbound lanes were reopened within a few hours, but cleanup of the northbound lanes between the Saguaro Lake exit and SR 188 continued through the night. All lanes were reopened at about 3 a.m.

On a few positive notes, though … the driver sustained only minor injuries, there were no other vehicles involved in the crash and crews were able to stop the liquid before it reached the creek.

(And, as a side note … the “responsible party” is also responsible for paying for the cleanup efforts. But more about that in a future post dedicated to all-things ADOT HAZMAT related.)

View SR 87 oil tanker rollover photos on Flickr

Elsewhere in the state …

Heavy rains further north caused water to flow over a bluff above SR 264 just east of Tuba City in Navajo County washing out the roadway.

ADOT crews reopened the roadway last night and are still working to complete additional  permanent repairs. As you can see in the slideshow below, the damage was pretty extensive.

SR 264 road and shoulder washout

 … and people think it never rains in Arizona …