Motorists traveling to Payson from the Valley along State Route 87 may be familiar with the road and scenery, but are probably unaware of the feats of science and engineering designed to keep them safe as they pass along the way.

“On State Route 87 we rebuilt things so we don’t have steep grades and windy roads and much of it is safer,” said ADOT Geologist James Lemmon. “We don’t want streams flooding and rocks falling onto the road.”

One such project is the soil cement and hydro-seeded mulch mixture that covers grouted riprap along the banks of Slate Creek on SR 87 northbound, at milepost 227. This is about 7 miles before SR 87 intersects with State Route 188. 

The hydro-seeded mulch mixture was created by E. LeRoy Brady, manager/chief landscape architect for the ADOT Roadside Development Section-Roadway Engineering.

Here are some of the components: hydraulically applied compost containing, among other elements, seeds of about 30 plants chosen specifically to suit the environment. These plants include desert senna, incienso brittlebush, desert marigold, arroyo lupine and more.  

The hydro-seeded mulch mixture feels spongy and light to walk on, almost like paper-mache. It stretches along the sides of the highway and parallels the guardrails. It follows the creek bank and hugs the sides of the culvert that carries the creek under SR 87.

Under the surface, on the banks of Slate Creek, are large quantities of massive stones and soil, known as riprap. The riprap is secured with grouted cement, allowed to cure, and then covered with the hydro-seeded mulch. Together, this prevents the earth from eroding and washing the road away. It also keeps Slate Creek’s water where is should be – in the creek, according to Lemmon, who works as a member of ADOT's Geotechnical Design Section-Bridge Group.

We know that most drivers won't even think about these bits of engineering the next time they escape to the cooler weather of the high country, but that's okay. If it's doing its job, you don't have to.

On a cool, November morning (by Arizona standards), a small group of scouts from Scottsdale gathered in a parking lot off State Route 87 in the Fountain Hills area. They wore yellow-and-orange vests, work gloves and face masks. 

The task for these Boy Scouts from Troop 616 in Scottsdale? Safely cleaning up trash on the side of the highway through ADOT’s volunteer Adopt a Highway program. 

“It’s pretty motivating,” said 15-year-old Pinnacle High School 10th grader Justin Hutchison, who worked to bend down his 6-foot-3-inch frame to pick up trash. “Especially with the pandemic going on it’s important we can get out and do projects, because that’s a big part of scouting.”

The Nov. 14 cleanup was part of the Boy Scouts’ Grand Canyon Council’s Day of Service. The troop covered between mile markers 190 and 192 on the Beeline Highway, a stretch that starts the gateway to the Mogollon Rim.

“We camp quite often as a troop in the Payson area at the two Boy Scout camps up there so we drive ... 87 quite a bit,” said Scoutmaster David Hutchison (yes, Justin’s father!), who shepherded the troop through the cleanup along with the other adult scout leaders.  

“We’re just trying to serve the community,” the scoutmaster added. “A lot of them think it’s really cool because they’ve never done it, but as scouts we try and instill in them the values of the Scout Law, and providing service and giving back to the community is a big part of that, so they’re all more than happy to do this.”

The troop spread out, socially distanced along the stretch in small groups, filling two dozen bags of trash by the end of the morning.  

You can be like Troop 616 and volunteer to Keep Arizona Grand. Adopt a Highway is limiting cleanups during the current public health situation to smaller groups, as recommended by the Arizona Department of Health Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If your organization is interested in participating in a cleanup and/or adopting a stretch of Arizona highway, visit the Adopt a Highway webpage. 

Scoutmaster Hutchison summed up the lessons of the day of service by saying, “They’ll leave today with a lot of pride in what they’ve accomplished.”

“I like the fact that we can help our city and our state and everything,” Scout Justin Hutchison said. “We’re big about helping the community.”

After the Bush Fire was contained and put out, ADOT began to do its evaluation of the damage. In addition to more than 11 miles of guardrail and right-of-way fence damage along SR 87 and SR 188, south of Payson, the land itself was damaged with a lot of the vegetation burned up as fuel for the fire.

This left the area more susceptible to flooding in the event of monsoon storms. 

Realizing this possibility, ADOT reached out to the National Weather Service and began to develop an emergency action plan that could help cut response times in the event of flooding in the area.

The plan, which helps fulfill ADOT’s initiatives in the Pathfinder Program with the Federal Highway Administration, will go into effect when a monsoon storm approaches the area just south of Payson. The National Weather Service will contact ADOT’s Traffic Operations Center to advise them of the potential for rain in the area. The TOC will then dispatch maintenance crews to pre-stage equipment such as loaders, skid-steers and backhoes as well as other equipment like barriers and portable message boards.

This emergency plan was put into action in late July when a mudslide occurred on SR 188. Crews were able to respond quickly and close the road. The heavy equipment they rolled out was able to clear the road of mud. See the photos of our crews working to clear the highway.

The Pathfinder Program came about through FHWA’s Every Day Counts innovation recognition program. It’s designed to keep travelers informed and improve safety, mobility and the movement of goods during storms that impact highways, through enhanced collaboration between FHWA, the National Weather Service, state DOTs and other stakeholders.

You can find more information on the program by going to highways.dot.gov and searching Pathfinder.

The entertainment industry has its annual awards that showcase “the best of” in movies and TV shows. The transportation industry is no different as we have annual awards programs that recognize transportation projects that are making a difference in communities across the country. I am pleased to announce the Arizona Department of Transportation recently received three regional awards in the 2020 America’s Transportation Awards competition.

Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AAA, America’s Transportation Awards showcases transportation projects delivered by state departments of transportation and tells the story of the importance of transportation to our communities. With 79 projects nominated nationwide in three categories, the competition was fierce.

Under the category “Best Use of Technology and Innovation – Large Project,” ADOT won for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway project. As our first public-private freeway project in ADOT’s history and the state’s largest single highway project at $2 billion total, the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway project is the final leg of the loop transportation system in the metropolitan Phoenix area that connects the West Valley to the East Valley. Using the P3 method, we built the freeway as a single project and saved nearly $100 million. We are already witnessing the economic development opportunities in the area and reduction in commute times for drivers.

Under the category “Quality of Life/Community Development – Small Project,” ADOT tied for first place with the State Route 347 at Union Pacific Railroad project. We built a six-lane divided overpass with raised medians and sidewalks to carry traffic, bicyclists and pedestrians over the railroad track in the City of Maricopa. Now, the community doesn’t have to wait for trains to pass by on its main north-south corridor. The City of Maricopa is reaping the benefits of the project with shortened emergency response times and construction has begun on several commercial projects. Most importantly, drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists can safely travel on this major corridor without delay due to train traffic.

Under the category “Operations Excellence – Medium Project,” ADOT tied for first place again with the I-10/SR 87 Improvement Project with Dust Detection System. This project added a travel lane in each direction on a four-mile stretch of Interstate 10. We also built a modern interchange at SR 87 with two lanes in each direction plus turn lanes and traffic signals over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. But, the cornerstone of the project is the installation of a first-in-its-kind dust detection and warning system. Blinding dust storms in the area between Tucson and Phoenix have been a safety concern to us for years. The dust detection system is helping us improve safety for the traveling public.

As a regional winner, our projects will be considered for the next phase of the nationwide competition, making it into the “Top 12” list. These 12 projects compete for the two top prizes – the Grand Prize, chosen by an independent panel of judges, and the People’s Choice Award which is determined by the public through online voting this fall.

I applaud the men and women at ADOT who design, build and maintain a transportation system that ensures we meet our True North, Safely Home. And thank you as well to the many stakeholders involved in these award-winning projects. Receiving the recognition by our peers in transportation makes me very proud and validates the outstanding work we do for the people of Arizona.

We didn't have to search too far back to find this interesting shot of a bridge in the process of being built.

Drivers who travel between the Phoenix area and Payson may have no difficulty recognizing this as the State Route 87, known as the Beeline Highway. The photo comes from 1998 in the middle of a project to upgrade SR 87 to four-lane divided highway. The bridge that would eventually support the highway is being built using segemented construction. Basically, the bridge is built bit by bit with cast-in-place concrete segments that are added on using a specialized casting machine. That's the big white rigging you see there.

You'll notice, however, that there is a second machine in background on the other side of the bridge being built. The same work is happening on that end in what is known as cantilevering. Basically, segements are being added out from the supporting pier on both sides either simultaneously or in alternating turns to keep the entire structure in balance. Eventually all segements are connected and you have one, long bridge to drive across. In this case, the photo appears to be of the Screwtail Bridge, just south of Sunflower, which wound up being an impressive 1,080 feet, spanning a 105-foot-deep canyon. 

This innovative method was needed because the terrain between Phoenix and Payson is pretty rugged, as reflected in some of the curves and grades of the road's original alignment. By building bridges this way, ADOT was able to straighten and flatten the roadway a bit while also widening it and making sure to steer clear of sensitive riparian areas and wildlife corridors.