PRESCOTT – A new traffic signal along State Route 69 near Cordes Junction will be activated this week after the Arizona Department of Transportation finishes up a project to improve safety at the intersection with Spring Lane.

Those finishing touches require lane restrictions on SR 69 between mileposts 264 and 265 Tuesday, Aug. 17, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Drivers should expect delays of up to 30 minutes.

The new traffic signal is set to be activated by the morning of Friday, Aug. 20.

In addition to a new signal, the $560,000 project consisted of an additional left-turn lane from Spring Lane, an advanced radar detection system and intersection lighting. A median ditch was also installed to eliminate left turns into nearby Mayer High School from SR 69 and Wildcat Way. 

The project began in November 2020, but was temporarily put on hold due to a delay in shipping manufacturer parts.

For more information on the project, please visit azdot.gov/SR69SpringLane.

PHOENIX – In order to provide the most current information on the upcoming State Route 69 widening project between Prescott Lake Parkway and Frontier Village, the Arizona Department of Transportation has postponed a virtual public meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 20.

With a revised tentative Five-Year Construction Program before the State Transportation Board for their consideration and approval, ADOT decided to postpone the public information meeting until after June, when the board will approve a final version of the Five-Year Program.

The meeting will be rescheduled for a later date.

The virtual public meeting was scheduled to air several times over the next couple of months on the city’s public access station, Channel 64, the Prescott Media Center.

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 – This year will be filled with highway system improvements for northern Arizona travelers, including the start of the latest Arizona Department of Transportation project expanding US 93 to four-lane divided highway between Wickenburg and Interstate 40.

Crews will soon launch a $35.5 million project on nearly 4 miles of US 93 just north of Wikieup, between Carrow and Stephens, connecting two sections of highway that have already been divided. That will provide a continuous stretch of divided four-lane highway from milepost 108, about 15 miles south of I-40, and milepost 121 near Wikieup.

With an eye toward an Interstate 11, ADOT has invested more than half a billion dollars over the past 20 years to turn the primary route between Phoenix and Las Vegas into modern four-lane divided highway. The upcoming project is part of $155 million in US 93 improvements planned over the next five years.

Currently all but 39 miles of the 200-mile drive from Wickenburg to the Nevada state line has been upgraded to a four-lane divided highway to improve traffic flow, support the movement of freight and enhance safety through this heavily traveled area. The entire northern segment of US 93 from Kingman to the Nevada state line (mileposts 1 to 68) is now a four-lane divided highway following the completion of a $71 million project in 2010.

Meanwhile, paving projects to repair long-term winter weather damage will continue in the Flagstaff area, with crews finishing paving along northbound I-17 from milepost 312 to the I-40 interchange and along the 17-mile stretch of I-40 between Cataract Lake and Parks west of Flagstaff.

Last year, crews rebuilt about 20 miles of highway in northern Arizona, providing a long-term fix to damage from freeze-thaw cycles and heavy traffic. In all, ADOT has improved or is in the process of improving 62 miles of interstate freeway in the Flagstaff area.

This spring, ADOT will launch a project to repave 13 miles of State Route 89A from Sedona to the Pumphouse Wash bridge between mileposts 374 and 387. The project will also install new guardrail.

In far northwestern Arizona, the decks of three Virgin River bridges along Interstate 15 will get makeovers starting early this year. Bridge Nos. 2 and 5 will get newly resurfaced decks. Bridge No. 4 will received a brand new deck.

For more information on these projects, please visit azdot.gov/projects.

PHOENIX – While State Route 69 has reopened between Interstate 17 and State Route 169 near Prescott, drivers need to use caution as crews in the area continue fighting the Goodwin Fire, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Those using SR 69 through the affected area should slow down and watch out for vehicles and equipment entering and exiting the highway. In addition, windblown smoke can reduce visibility.

Other options for reaching the Prescott area from the Valley include taking SR 169 west from Interstate 17 or taking SR 89 north from US 93 via US 60 through Wickenburg. Because both SR 169 and SR 89 are one lane in each direction most of the way, heavy traffic can lead to slowing on those routes.

SR 69 closed Tuesday between Cordes Junction and SR 169 as the Goodwin Fire burned near Mayer. It reopened to all traffic Friday morning.

Initial assessments by ADOT suggest that only minimal fire damage occurred along SR 69. Approximately 20 guardrail posts were damaged when fire crossed the highway near Mayer. ADOT will conduct a full assessment once firefighting operations wind down.

For the most current information about highway closures and restrictions statewide, visit ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov, follow us on Twitter (@ArizonaDOT) or call 511. 

PRESCOTT VALLEY – While traffic has increased with growth, the Arizona Department of Transportation is smoothing the journey along State Route 69 through Prescott Valley using the latest in traffic-management technology.

New communication hardware installed in traffic signals along the three miles from Navajo Drive to Sundog Ranch Road allows engineers to monitor traffic conditions from afar, make adjustments to signal timing that improve traffic flow, and diagnose and correct problems. The signals automatically adjust timing at certain times of the day based on anticipated traffic.

The result: Travel time on this stretch of SR 69 has improved by as much as 40 percent.

“These new, coordinated signals move traffic more efficiently and give us more direct control than we’ve had before,” said Alvin Stump, district engineer for ADOT’s Northwest District. “This benefits local residents as well as visitors to the area.”

Other traffic signal features include new systems for detecting traffic and LED lights that increase nighttime visibility while using less electricity.

Later this year, ADOT plans to make these same improvements to SR 69 traffic signals from Sundog Ranch Road west to the SR 69/SR 89 interchange in Prescott.

These changes are being made through ADOT’s Transportation Systems Management & Operations (TSMO) division. While many of ADOT’s signals in the Phoenix metro area currently have remote access, the agency is bringing that technology to other regions of the state.

“As traffic demands increase due to growth, ADOT will continue to respond with different solutions to help drivers get where they need to go,” Stump said.

ADOT Transportation Systems Management & Operations brings together traffic-engineering resources around the state to maximize resources, technology and expertise. This includes collaborating with other transportation and public safety agencies.

PHOENIX – Three highway projects by the Arizona Department of Transportation, including two major northern Arizona projects, won Engineering Excellence Grand Awards presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Arizona earlier this year. Two other projects received Honor Awards.

The winning projects were the Interstate 17/State Route 69 Cordes Junction Traffic Interchange, the US 89T Interim US 89 Detour and a topographical survey on the State Route 89A improvement project through Oak Creek Canyon.

HDR Engineering, Inc., won a Grand Award for the I-17/SR 69 Cordes Junction traffic interchange project. This project was ADOT’s first federally funded highway project to be built under the construction manager-at-risk (CMAR) method in Arizona. The CMAR concept is an innovative contracting method that involves pairing a design team with a construction team to create one, coordinated entity that delivers a freeway project from beginning to end. This method can save time and money by overlapping the design and construction phases.

The US 89T project, built to serve as a detour to the landslide-damaged US 89, received the award for AZTEC Engineering Group’s coordinated effort to produce roadway plans and get environmental clearance in less than two months. This process normally takes one to two years to complete.

ADOT, the Federal Highway Administration, the Navajo Nation, Navajo Division of Transportation and Bureau of Indian Affairs worked together to accelerate the process in order to open the temporary route as soon as possible. US 89T cuts the original detour route via US 160 and SR 98 nearly in half, saving time and mileage.

The SR 89A improvement project, which will include repaving the roadway, replacing guardrail, repairing the bridge deck at Pumphouse Wash and mitigating rock falls in the area, received the award for David Evans and Associates’ innovative use of laser imaging technologies to conduct a topographical survey. The use of laser imaging resulted in fewer lane closures and significant savings in time and cost. Topographical surveys are a part of the design phase of a roadway project.

Honor Awards were received by URS Corporation for the redesign of the Interstate 10/State Route 90 interchange to solve safety and traffic capacity issues, and by Parsons Brinckerhoff for the Avenue 3E widening project from Gila Ridge Road to 24th Street in Yuma to provide better connectivity through the community.

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Arizona Engineering Excellence Awards competition recognizes engineering firms for projects that demonstrate an exceptional degree of innovation, complexity, achievement and value.

American Council of Engineering Companies of Arizona is a member organization under the American Council of Engineering Companies, and is devoted exclusively to the business interests of engineers in private practice.

PHOENIX — A regular destination for drivers headed to the Flagstaff or Prescott areas, the junction of Interstate 17 and State Route 69 has been described as the “gateway to northern Arizona,” but in recent years the outdated Cordes Junction traffic interchange had started to show its age.

Built in the early 1960s, the Cordes Junction traffic interchange carried far more traffic than it was designed to accommodate. With traffic volumes expected to double in the coming decades, the Arizona Department of Transportation began a task in the summer of 2011 to redesign and rebuild the busy interchange, which is located approximately 65 miles north of downtown Phoenix, with minimal disruption to traffic.

The solution was a $50.9 million project that would transform the outdated intersection design that forced slower local traffic to mix with high-speed highway traffic, causing congestion and safety concerns. Two years after construction started, ADOT has completed the project on budget and on time. The final piece of the project will include permanent lane striping, which will be completed in the weeks ahead.

“There was a huge need for this project and it was eagerly anticipated by members of the community,” said ADOT Prescott District Engineer Alvin Stump. “Thousands of visitors, truck drivers and business travelers use I-17 and SR 69 en route to other destinations in Arizona and neighboring states.

“Plus, the Cordes Junction interchange provides access for numerous tourist attractions and recreational areas locally, not to mention that many travelers use services at the Cordes Junction interchange because of its central location between Flagstaff and Phoenix,” Stump said.

The new diamond-shaped interchange was designed to improve traffic flow and safety, while separating local and highway traffic.

“The new Cordes Junction traffic interchange has greatly enhanced the ability of our school bus drivers to safely move children through the Cordes Lakes area. Safety is our No. 1 priority,” said Mayer Unified School District Superintendent Dean Slaga. “In addition to improving safety and allowing for easier access to Cordes Lakes, the project should be a boon for the local community and will allow for future business growth for decades to come.”

The largest project (in terms of cost) in northern Arizona the last two years, the Cordes Junction traffic interchange was completed in four phases and included:

• Construction of a new traffic interchange approximately one-half mile north of the existing interchange
• Removal of the outdated on- and off-ramps
• Construction of new ramps to separate Prescott-bound traffic from local traffic traveling at slower speeds
• Replacement of the existing bridges carrying I-17 over Big Bug Creek
• Construction of seven new bridges and three local roads (Copper Star Road, Arcosanti Road, Stagecoach Trail), installation of two roundabouts and improvements to local stormwater drainage.

With the communities of Cordes Lakes, Spring Valley and Mayer located only a few miles from the intersection, ADOT wanted to incorporate key elements of the area adjacent to the project. To do that, ADOT sought out famed Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri, who established Arcosanti, an artists' community and a popular tourist attraction that is located approximately two miles northeast of the traffic interchange.

Soleri’s artistic vision is on display on some of the retaining walls and abutments on the bridges at the interchange. Soleri, who worked as a project consultant for ADOT, died April 9 at age 93. Most of his artwork was completed prior to his death and his designs will be on display for drivers who pass through the area.

“Cordes Junction is often described as the gateway to northern Arizona,” said Arcosanti General Manager Mary Hoadley. “Working on the designs for the artwork displayed at the interchange was a rewarding experience for Paolo Soleri. In the three years of design development and construction it was eye opening for him to see all the problem solving and teamwork that took place to get his abstract artwork to come to life.”

Project Milestones

August 2011 – Construction begins.

November 2011 – Work begins on new Arcosanti Bridge abutments; Copper Star Road opens to traffic.

March 2012 – Girders placed on the new Cordes Lakes Road Bridge.

June 2012 – New northbound Big Bug Bridge on I-17 opens to traffic; work begins on new west roundabout.

July 2012 – Work on southbound Big Bug Bridge on I-17 begins.

September 2012 – Newly paved Stagecoach Drive opens to traffic (the local road was previously unpaved).

October 2012 – I-17 on- and off-ramps open at Arcosanti traffic interchange; new west roundabout opens to traffic; old northbound loop on-ramp and old southbound loop off-ramp close; new Cordes Lakes Bridge opens to traffic and old northbound SR 69 ramp closes; girders placed on southbound Big Bug Bridge on I-17; SR 69 bridges are painted.

November 2012 – Arcosanti Bridge opens to traffic. Work begins on new east roundabout; demolition of old Cordes Lakes Bridge.

December 2012 – New northbound I-17 to northbound SR 69 flyover bridge opens.

January 2013 – Southbound Big Bug Bridge on I-17 opens to traffic; northbound and southbound I-17 open to normal lane configuration; completion of east roundabout.

June 28, 2013 – Project completion.

August 2013 – Final lane striping.