US 60

Bell and Grand: Telling the story through photos and videos

Bell and Grand: Telling the story through photos and videos

Bell and Grand: Telling the story through photos and videos

Bell and Grand: Telling the story through photos and videos

February 17, 2017

By Steve Elliott / ADOT Communications

Nothing tells ADOT's story quite like videos and photos. That's why John Dougherty and Mike Harris from ADOT Communications have made regular trips to our interchange project at Bell Road and Grand Avenue (US 60). With ramps opening Thursday connecting Grand Avenue and the new Bell Road bridge, their dashboard video above and their photos featured in the slideshow below illustrate how this project has improved the quality of life in Surprise and the entire West Valley.

 

Here are highlights as ADOT's work progressed:

 

 

April 2016: As major work got underway, this video explained what was coming, what the benefits would be and how ADOT worked with the community to create the best possible project and timeline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 2016: Time-lapse videos are great for showing how much progress has been made. This one showed bridge supports going up along Grand Avenue. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 2016: This time-lapse video highlighted girders being set for the Bell Road bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Along the way: Our partners at the city of Surprise shared several amazing aerial videos of the Bell/Grand project, and getting them on ADOT's YouTube channel at youtube.com/ArizonaDOT allowed us to feature them on the ADOT Blog.

 

 

 

 

 

December 2016: After the Bell Road bridge opened, as promised, for the start of the holiday shopping season, this video highlighted the benefits.

 

 

 

What's next for members of our video/photography team? Stay tuned to the ADOT Blog, and we'll keep featuring their great work.

 

Bell and Grand Off Ramps_021617

 

 

 

In addition to the photos below, you can see more from Bell/Grand and other projects on our Flickr page at flickr.com/arizonadot.

 

 

 

ADOT opens new Grand Avenue ramps at Bell Road bridge

ADOT opens new Grand Avenue ramps at Bell Road bridge

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT opens new Grand Avenue ramps at Bell Road bridge

ADOT opens new Grand Avenue ramps at Bell Road bridge

February 16, 2017

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.

“This is about planning ahead, thinking outside the box and keeping promises,” said Dallas Hammit, ADOT’s state engineer and deputy director for transportation. “The project team did a great job opening the Bell Road bridge in November and now completing the new Grand Avenue ramps before the start of Cactus League play at Surprise Stadium, as we had pledged to do.”

The new interchange improves the flow of traffic by replacing the old ground-level intersection that was plagued by long lines and delays, especially when Bell Road drivers needed to cross both Grand Avenue and the parallel BNSF Railway tracks. The Bell Road bridge now travels over Grand Avenue and the railroad tracks.

Surprise Mayor Sharon Wolcott called the project a perfect example of community involvement and agency cooperation to limit impacts on businesses, local residents and visitors.

“After hearing from residents and the business community, we worked with ADOT to create a shortened project schedule to mitigate the impacts during spring training and last year’s holiday shopping season,” Wolcott said. “Thanks to a collaborative approach we have achieved those goals. I sincerely appreciate everyone who played a role in making this happen.”

Opening the new ramps means drivers aren’t required to use temporary detour routes, including Dysart and Litchfield roads, to get to and from Bell Road and Grand Avenue. 

The Bell/Grand interchange design is known as a median urban diamond, with connections at the center rather than ramps to the right of Grand Avenue’s travel lanes or other possible configurations. The benefits of this design include minimizing the impact on neighboring shopping centers and businesses by not requiring the ADOT to acquire as much property.

The entire project is expected to be completed by early March after crews replace temporary lane stripes on fresh pavement with permanent striping. Landscaping and drainage system work also will be finished in the coming weeks.

The project is funded as part of the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Regional Transportation Plan approved by county voters in 2004. Funding sources include a countywide half-cent sales tax for road and transit improvements as well as the Phoenix region’s share of federal and state transportation funds.

Grand Avenue ramps at Bell Road open later this week

Grand Avenue ramps at Bell Road open later this week

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Grand Avenue ramps at Bell Road open later this week

Grand Avenue ramps at Bell Road open later this week

February 14, 2017

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.

The $41.9 million interchange, where ramps are scheduled to open Thursday, Feb. 16, is what’s called a median urban diamond, which has connections at the center rather than ramps to the right of Grand Avenue travel lanes or other possible configurations. The benefits of this design include minimizing the impact on neighboring shopping centers and businesses by not requiring the Arizona Department of Transportation to acquire as much property.

Drivers using the new interchange should pay attention to signs and other traffic-control devices, including the new traffic signals on the Bell Road bridge. Motorists using the new Grand Avenue on-ramps should use caution when merging with other traffic on US 60.

After ADOT opened the Bell Road bridge as promised before the start of the holiday shopping season, opening ramps to and from Grand Avenue before the start of spring training baseball games at nearby Surprise Stadium represents another key milestone.

Construction of the Bell/Grand interchange began a year ago. The entire project is expected to be completed by early March after crews replace temporary lane stripes on fresh pavement with permanent striping. Landscaping and drainage system work also will be finished in the coming weeks.

The project is funded as part of the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Regional Transportation Plan approved by county voters in 2004. Funding sources include a countywide half-cent sales tax for road and transit improvements as well as the Phoenix region’s share of federal and state transportation funds.

If you can't find Love, try driving to Valentine

If you can't find Love, try driving to Valentine

If you can't find Love, try driving to Valentine

If you can't find Love, try driving to Valentine

February 13, 2017

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

Looking for someplace out of the way to take your dear one? How about Love or Valentine?

If you’ve never heard of these two Arizona towns, it might be worth a road trip with your beloved.

Love is just off US 60, east of Salome. It was once called Lockhart but was renamed in honor of Ernest Love, who was killed during World War I. For more interesting spots along US 60, read our US 60 Road Trip blog.

For another romantic drive, you can visit Valentine, at the intersection of State Route 66 and Valentine Way, 30 miles east of Kingman. It's named for Robert G. Valentine, former commissioner of Indian Affairs. In 2016, Valentine reported a population of 38.

These tiny towns may not have a lot of restaurant options, so pack a picnic just in case and share a picture of your adventure via Twitter (@ArizonaDOT) or Facebook (facebook.com/AZDOT).

You can click on either map for a larger view.

Projects on US 60, Interstate 15 highlight 2016 in Greater Arizona

Projects on US 60, Interstate 15 highlight 2016 in Greater Arizona

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Projects on US 60, Interstate 15 highlight 2016 in Greater Arizona

Projects on US 60, Interstate 15 highlight 2016 in Greater Arizona

December 28, 2016

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.

After months of regularly scheduled blasting closures, those using US 60 between Superior and Globe now have an westbound passing lane on the grade between Oak Flat and Devil’s Canyon (mileposts 230 to 232). Other improvements along this stretch include a wider shoulder at Devil’s Canyon and bridge improvements at Waterfall Canyon near milepost 229. The projects also removed overhanging rocks that have posed the danger of rock falling during heavy rain.

2016-US60-widening-work
This work was part of $65 million in US 60 improvements that also include ongoing work to convert the last remaining two-lane roadway segment between Phoenix and Superior into four-lane divided highway (mileposts 222-227 just west of Superior) and a project that installed LED lighting in the Queen Creek Tunnel at milepost 228.

Along I-15 in far northwestern Arizona, ADOT completed a $27 million rehabilitation of Virgin River Bridge No. 6 that replaced girders, decks and railings and widened the roadway at the bridge. This was the centerpiece of $50 million in upgrades that also included paving all 29 miles of I-15 in Arizona and repairing the decks of three other bridges in the Virgin River Gorge corridor.

Until late 2016, flash floods could cause closures of US 95 at Fortuna Wash near Yuma – no small problem considering that the wash lies between the city and Yuma County’s largest employer, Yuma Proving Ground. Today, motorists using this key trade route between the U.S. and Mexico cross Fortuna Wash on a $9.3 million, 600-foot bridge. Final work on the bridge and this stretch of US 95 will continue until spring.

i15-bridge-project
Among other highlights in Greater Arizona, ADOT completed a major project to improve mobility and safety along US 89 through the Navajo Nation community of Cameron north of Flagstaff. The $36.7 million project replaced two bridges over the Little Colorado River, widened four miles of highway, added a roundabout at the junction with State Route 64, and installed sidewalks and underpasses.

On State Route 89 between Chino Valley and Interstate 40, ADOT completed a new $14.4 million bridge at Hell Canyon featuring 12-foot lanes and 10-foot shoulders to better accommodate oversize loads and commercial vehicles. Replacing a now-dismantled bridge built in 1954 that no longer met state and federal design standards for larger and heavier vehicles, the new structure is 665 feet long and has four spans to carry the load.

In spring 2017, work is to begin on a project widening nine miles of SR 260 (mileposts 209-218) to modern four-lane divided highway from Interstate 17 west to Thousand Trails Road. This $62 million project also will install seven roundabouts at major cross streets.

hell-canyon-bridge-construction
Late in 2017, ADOT plans to begin work on a $55 million project in Maricopa that will realign SR 347 between Desert Cedars Drive and Hathaway Avenue and create a bridge carrying the highway over Union Pacific railroad tracks where dozens of trains pass each day. A $15 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant and a $15 million local contribution have helped ADOT move forward sooner on this project than originally planned. 

For information about other current and planned projects in Greater Arizona, visit azdot.gov/projects.

As these videos show, working for ADOT can be a real blast

As these videos show, working for ADOT can be a real blast

As these videos show, working for ADOT can be a real blast

As these videos show, working for ADOT can be a real blast

December 5, 2016

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

We’ve said it all along: Working for ADOT can be a real blast.

Widening, repairing or creating highways in Arizona can mean moving a lot of earth – sometimes through blasting. For example, it took 100,000 pounds of explosives to remove 125,000 cubic yards of dirt and rocks to widen US 60 between Oak Flat and Devils Canyon. You can see some of those explosives in use here:

Reopening US 89 after a landslide near Page required blasting as well. And ADOT's cameras where there to capture it:

Last week on SR 77 between Winkelman and Globe, as a crew blasted overhanging rock to reduce the risk of pieces falling onto the roadway below, an 18-foot-tall boulder fell 150 feet onto the highway surface. It took four hours longer than expected to reopen the highway because of the time required to break up this huge rock.

The image at right doesn't begin to do this rock justice, so click it if you want to see the boulder at full size.

Rocks often break at naturally occurring joints. Sometimes, those natural breaking spots are beneath the surface and provide us with a surprise. When crews set off explosive charges like this one, most of the rocks fall where we expect them to go. Sometimes, as on Nov. 30 near a place called Dripping Springs, they don’t.

Most of the time, they make great video. Enjoy.

Brake checks to start for commercial trucks on US 60 east of Superior

Brake checks to start for commercial trucks on US 60 east of Superior

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Brake checks to start for commercial trucks on US 60 east of Superior

Brake checks to start for commercial trucks on US 60 east of Superior

December 2, 2016

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.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety will operate the mandatory brake check pullout, near US 60 milepost 231 east of Superior, weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Message boards will alert commercial truck drivers approaching the area that the brake check is mandatory during those times.

The checks are expected to continue until ADOT crews complete their work in the Superior area next summer.

Drivers should proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down and watch for construction personnel and equipment.

At Bell and Grand, it's a great day to watch traffic

At Bell and Grand, it's a great day to watch traffic

At Bell and Grand, it's a great day to watch traffic

At Bell and Grand, it's a great day to watch traffic

November 22, 2016

By Steve Elliott / ADOT Communications

What's more exciting than watching traffic? Anything, you might say.

But on this day, seven-plus months in the making, you would be wrong. Earlier today, we opened a bridge carrying Bell Road over Grand Avenue (US 60) in Surprise. So we hope you'll join us in watching a little traffic and celebrating a big day for ADOT and the West Valley.

Please start by using the slider above for a before-and-after view of the area now containing the bridge.

Then enjoy the slideshow below of what the bridge looks like on opening day.

This $41.9 million ADOT project was able to complete the majority of work before the holiday shopping season because, with input from the community, we closed Bell Road at Grand Avenue starting April 1. We offered access to area businesses throughout with a convenient detour route.

Bell and Grand_112216

Frequent visitors to this blog will recall frequent posts about this important project. We'll scale it back a bit from here out, but do look forward to us updating you on opening new eastbound lanes of Grand Avenue and completing ramps connecting Bell Road and Grand Avenue.

With all work scheduled to end before the start of spring training baseball in Surprise, we continue to offer convenient access to area businesses. It's all the more convenient as of today with Bell Road reopened.

ADOT opens bridge carrying Bell Road over Grand Avenue (US 60)

ADOT opens bridge carrying Bell Road over Grand Avenue (US 60)

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT opens bridge carrying Bell Road over Grand Avenue (US 60)

ADOT opens bridge carrying Bell Road over Grand Avenue (US 60)

November 22, 2016

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.

The interchange in the heart of Surprise will eliminate delays caused by trains using the BNSF Railway tracks along Grand Avenue and will keep Grand Avenue free-flowing.

 ADOT met extensively with city officials, business owners and other stakeholders to develop a project and timeline that supported businesses and the community even before the final payoff of a modern interchange.

Remaining work also includes completing lanes that will carry eastbound Grand Avenue traffic. For now, both directions of traffic are sharing what will be the westbound lanes.

Motorists connecting from Grand Avenue to Bell Road can continue using Dysart and Litchfield roads. Those using Grand Avenue also can continue accessing stores and restaurants just west of the construction area using Town Center Drive and Bell Grande Drive.

The Bell/Grand project is funded as part of the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Regional Transportation Plan approved by county voters in 2004. Funding sources include a countywide half-cent sales tax for transportation projects and the MAG region’s share of state and federal highway funds.

Bell Road reopening at Grand Avenue in time for holiday shopping season

Bell Road reopening at Grand Avenue in time for holiday shopping season

Bell Road reopening at Grand Avenue in time for holiday shopping season

Bell Road reopening at Grand Avenue in time for holiday shopping season

November 14, 2016

Progression of Bell Road and Grand Ave Interchange

By Steve Elliott / ADOT Communications

Our project to create a $41.9 million traffic interchange at Bell Road and Grand Avenue (US 60) is about to take a big step forward. On Tuesday, Nov. 22, Bell Road is scheduled to reopen after being closed since April 1.

That closure has made it possible to get the majority of the work done without interfering with spring training baseball or the holiday shopping season. As of next week, area drivers will be able to shop on both sides of Grand Avenue using the new Bell Road bridge.

The slideshow above allows you to follow the progress even before construction began, starting with community involvement that helped create a project and timeline that supported businesses and residents. You can find dozens of additional photos on ADOT's Flickr page.

There are more Bell/Grand updates to come, as the entire project, including ramps to and from Grand Avenue, is scheduled for completion before spring training.