SUPERIOR – Motorists who travel on US 60 between Miami and Superior should plan ahead for about six months of three times-a-week daytime closures starting Wednesday, May 15, as rock blasting begins for a project to replace the Queen Creek and Waterfall Canyon bridges.

When scheduled, the blasting will lead to closures of US 60 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., a schedule the Arizona Department of Transportation designed to provide consistency for those who rely on this highway east of the Phoenix area. Closures are not expected to occur every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday but will be limited to those days.

During closures, motorists will use a detour on state routes 77 and 177 through Winkelman. That roughly 68-mile route includes a 10 percent grade and will significantly increase travel time. Drivers may want to plan trips before or after the full closures because of the potential for delays.

Eastbound US 60 traffic will be redirected at State Route 177 in Superior, and westbound traffic will be redirected at the west end of Miami. Traffic will not be allowed to queue at the closure locations.

Motorists with destinations between Miami and Magma Mine Road will be allowed to pass. No vehicles will be allowed between Superior and Magma Mine Road. 

Drivers should expect lane restrictions and a reduced speed limit at all times in the work zone, along with a 14-foot vehicle width restriction. Please proceed with caution, slow down and watch for construction personnel and equipment.

The closures are required for the combined $44.7 million project to replace the Queen Creek and Waterfall Canyon bridges with spans designed to handle passenger and commercial traffic for decades to come.

Toward the end of the project, a multi-day closure of US 60 will be required to finish realigning the highway with the new Queen Creek Bridge.

The new Queen Creek Bridge will span 763 feet and feature one lane of travel in each direction with 4-foot-wide shoulders. The replacement structure for the Waterfall Canyon Bridge will span 107 feet.

Once the Queen Creek Bridge is completed, crews will dismantle the existing structure, which opened to traffic in 1949. While the bridge remains safe for traffic, it has reached the end of its lifespan and doesn’t meet current standards for bridge design.

For safety reasons, construction will require closing some areas used by hikers, rock climbers and other recreational areas. In the Queen Creek Bridge area, trails will close from Magma Avenue in Superior to the west of the Claypool Tunnel. The trail through the Claypool Tunnel, heading east past Waterfall Canyon Bridge, will remain open until later in the project when active construction begins in this area. 

In the Waterfall Canyon Bridge area, the US 60 pullout east of the Queen Creek Tunnel will close during the project. Other nearby pullouts may close intermittently. 

For more information, please visit azdot.gov/US60QueenCreekBridgeProject, Also, please visit az511.gov for the most current information on US 60 restrictions or closures. 
 

SUPERIOR – The Arizona Department of Transportation is replacing two bridges on US 60 east of Superior with spans designed to handle passenger and commercial traffic for decades to come.

The combined $44.7 million project will require multiple full highway closures on US 60 between Superior and Miami for blasting operations as crews work to construct new bridges over Queen Creek and Waterfall Canyon.

Motorists should plan for as many as three closures a week, starting at a date to be determined within the next several weeks, and continuing until autumn. The closures, when required, will occur from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

During the closures for blasting, crews will work to shift the highway 65 feet to the east and align it with the new Queen Creek Bridge. Also during the closures, crews will reconstruct the Waterfall Canyon Bridge just east of the Queen Creek Tunnel.

During the closures, motorists will detour on state routes 77 and 177 through Winkelman. This will add up to one hour to the trip between Globe and Superior. By providing consistent days and times for these full closures, ADOT is providing a reliable schedule for those who travel between the Superior and Globe areas.

Toward the end of the project, a multi-day closure of US 60 will be required to finish realigning the highway with the new Queen Creek Bridge.

The new Queen Creek Bridge will span 763 feet and feature one lane of travel in each direction with 4-foot-wide shoulders. The replacement structure for the Waterfall Canyon Bridge will span 107 feet.

Once the Queen Creek Bridge is completed, crews will dismantle the existing structure, which opened to traffic in 1949. While the bridge remains safe for traffic, it has reached the end of its lifespan and doesn’t meet current standards for bridge design.

For safety reasons, construction will require closing some areas used by hikers, rock climbers and other recreational areas. In the Queen Creek Bridge area, trails will close from Magma Avenue in Superior to the west of the Claypool Tunnel. The trail through the Claypool Tunnel, heading east past Waterfall Canyon Bridge, will remain open until later in the project when active construction begins in this area. 

In the Waterfall Canyon Bridge area, the US 60 pullout east of the Queen Creek tunnel will close during the project. Other nearby pullouts may close intermittently. 

For more information, please visit azdot.gov/US60QueenCreekBridgeProject. 

PHOENIX – An Arizona Department of Transportation project that replaced the US 60 Pinto Creek Bridge between the East Valley and Globe has received a regional honor. 

The 2023 America’s Transportation Awards named the effort Best Use of Technology and Innovation, Medium Project, for the Western region. The competition is sponsored by AASHTO, an association representing highway and transportation departments nationwide, as well as AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 

“We’re grateful to see the Pinto Creek Bridge replacement honored among projects throughout the West, but we’re even prouder of what this improvement has accomplished for those who rely on this critical route for passenger and commercial traffic,” said Greg Byres, ADOT State Engineer and Deputy Director for Transportation. “ADOT engineers and the contractor used innovative design and construction approaches to create a safer and more reliable US 60 for decades to come.”

Completed in 2022, the $25.3 million project built the new bridge next to the one it replaced, with traffic continuing to use the old bridge until the new bridge opened. 

Among other innovative approaches used:

• ADOT used a bid-alternative method for design, which allowed the contractor to determine economical and supportive foundation systems for each of the bridge’s three piers while taking into account the mountainous terrain.

• To create retaining wall structures up to 30 feet high, ADOT engineers developed design standards and specifications for a micro-pile foundation system using high-strength, small-diameter steel rods.

• A temporary access road was built to the floor of the steep canyon to provide access for heavy equipment, including a 400-ton crane that placed girders atop the piers, the tallest of which is 138 feet. 

• ADOT partnered with Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix to temporarily remove and then return hedgehog cactuses unique to the project site.

You can view photos of the completed bridge at flic.kr/s/aHBqjzWgRb. Carrying two lanes of traffic, the bridge is 695.5 feet long, has 10-foot-wide shoulders and can carry heavier loads than its predecessor, which was 72 years old.

The award was presented last week at the annual meeting of WASHTO, which represents departments of transportation in the West.