US 60

Busy year in southern Arizona

For today's Throwback Thursday, we go to Globe back during the horse-and-buggy era.

Just over a month since the Arizona Department of Transportation made lane adjustments and installed new signs as part of a safety project along westbound US 60 (Superstition Freeway) in Tempe, the results have been positive.

The Arizona Department of Transportation will be conducting final paving on a newly widened stretch of US 60 between State Route 77 and 40th Street in Show Low beginning Thursday, June 21.

A 1971 public meeting in Globe to discuss a new route for US 60/70 is one example of ADOT's commitment to public comments on its projects.

Sections of westbound US 60 (Superstition Freeway) east of Loop 101 in the Mesa area will be restricted Sunday through Thursday nights through April 13 for pavement-improvement work, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. Overnight closures of US 60 on- or off-ramps also are scheduled within the work zones.

Drivers should plan on midday restrictions along the US 60 (Superstition Freeway) on- and off-ramps at Country Club Drive in Mesa starting Wednesday, Feb. 7, while crews replace pavement at the interchange.

PHOENIX – As the widening project along US 60 between State Route 77 and 40th Street in Show Low wraps up for the winter, drivers should budget extra time early next week as crews stripe the road and put the traffic signal at US 60 and SR 77 in its final configuration.

Beginning Monday, Dec. 18, crews will put down final striping along US 60 in the project area. This must be done during the day, as overnight temperatures are too cold to apply the striping material. Striping work is expected to last a few days.

PHOENIX – Drivers should budget extra time and consider an alternate route between the Phoenix area and Rim Country, especially on the weekends, with State Route 87 reduced to one lane in each direction south of Payson for a critically needed project that is repairing a section of highway and stabilizing the terrain around it.

A Throwback Friday photo shows how much progress we've made in 50 years at the Bell and Grand interchange.

SURPRISE – When spring training baseball returns to Surprise Stadium on Saturday, fans will benefit from a new interchange at Grand Avenue (US 60) and Bell Road made possible by residents of Maricopa County.

Nothing tells the story of an ADOT project quite like videos and photos. Here are highlights from months of work on the new interchange at Bell and Grand in Surprise.

SURPRISE – Drivers now can skip detour routes and make direct connections between Grand Avenue (US 60) and Bell Road after the Arizona Department of Transportation opened all four ramps Thursday at the Valley’s newest highway interchange.

The new on- and off-ramps extend from the center median area along Grand Avenue to the recently completed Bell Road bridge as part of a $41.9 million project that started just over a year ago. Traffic signals on the overpass regulate turns between the ramps and Bell Road.

SURPRISE – When drivers begin using ramps to and from Grand Avenue (US 60) at the new Bell Road bridge this week, the connections will be from the center of Grand Avenue.

If you're on a quest to find love this Valentine's Day, a road trip might be your best bet.

PHOENIX – Drivers have a wider, safer US 60 climbing west from Superior, a new bridge that will eliminate flooding closures on US 95 near Yuma and a rehabilitated Virgin River Bridge No. 6 on Interstate 15 thanks to just some of the Arizona Department of Transportation projects completed this year in Greater Arizona.

More is on the way in 2017, including widening the last section of State Route 260 between Interstate 17 and Cottonwood, and starting work on a bridge carrying State Route 347 over railroad tracks in Maricopa.

We’ve said it all along: Working for ADOT can be a real blast. Check out videos illustrating this point.

PHOENIX – To protect crews working on an Arizona Department of Transportation project along US 60 near Superior, westbound commercial trucks will be required to stop for brake checks in the Oak Flat area beginning Tuesday, Dec. 6.

Trucks with ineffective brakes coming down the grade into Superior can pose a safety threat to workers along the road.

Earlier today, we opened a Bell Road bridge carrying traffic over Grand Avenue (US 60) in Surprise. Check out before-and-after photos.

SURPRISE ‒ A bridge carrying Bell Road over Grand Avenue (US 60) opened Tuesday after seven-plus months of work to create a $41.9 million traffic interchange.

Opening the bridge in time for the holiday shopping season is the first reward of an accelerated construction timeline made possible by closing Bell Road on April 1. The rest of the Arizona Department of Transportation project, including completing ramps connecting Bell Road and Grand Avenue, is on track to finish before the start of spring training baseball.