PHOENIX – After removing enough dirt and rock to fill more than 38 Olympic-size swimming pools, Arizona Department of Transportation crews have completed scheduled blasting on US 60 east of Superior to clear the way for a quicker, safer route.

In all, about 100,000 pounds of explosives helped crews remove 125,000 cubic yards of dirt and rock to create a westbound passing lane between Oak Flat and Devil’s Canyon. That included removing overhanging rocks that have posed the danger of rockslides during heavy rain.

Other improvements completed as part of this yearlong project include:

• A wider shoulder at Devil’s Canyon, at milepost 233.
• Bridge improvements at Waterfall Canyon, east of the Queen Creek Tunnel, near milepost 229.
• Drainage improvements east of Miami.

During the yearlong project, US 60 was closed twice each week for four hours to allow for blasting and removal of the dislodged dirt and rocks. That schedule was created to allow drivers to plan trips and avoid lengthy delays.

A little work remains. Smaller blasting jobs are possible, with any closures not expected to exceed 90 minutes.

Lane restrictions are expected for the next month for paving and striping, with only minor delays expected. Work from 9 p.m. Monday, Aug. 22, until 4 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23, will involve a lane closure and pilot cars escorting drivers between mileposts 241 and 242.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. To stay up to date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at az511.gov, call 511 or follow ADOT on Twitter (@ArizonaDOT).

SURPRISE – Among all of the progress being made on a $41.9 million overpass and interchange under construction at Grand Avenue (US 60) and Bell Road, perhaps the most noticeable addition of late is the start of retaining walls that will help support the structure.

In addition to continuing to build mechanically stabilized earth walls over the next week, crews are pouring concrete for the bridge deck.

The Arizona Department of Transportation will close Grand Avenue in both directions from 10 tonight (Friday, Aug. 12), until 5 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, for the deck pour. During that time, traffic will detour at Dysart and Litchfield roads.

Other work in the coming week includes crews continuing to create new eastbound lanes of Grand Avenue.

Bell Road remains closed in an area between Dysart and Litchfield roads in order to reduce the project’s length and lessen the overall impacts of construction. Access to businesses near the project will be maintained throughout.

Bell Road is scheduled to reopen to traffic by November, while the entire interchange is set for completion by spring 2017.

The primary detour routes while Bell Road is closed are Dysart, Greenway and Litchfield roads. Drivers should observe signs and speed limits. Law enforcement officers are patrolling the area.

SURPRISE – A $41.9 million overpass and interchange under construction at Grand Avenue (US 60) and Bell Road will add concrete to the bridge deck in the coming week.

The Arizona Department of Transportation will close Grand Avenue in both directions from 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, until 5 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, for the deck pour. During that time, traffic will detour at Dysart and Litchfield roads.

Other work in the coming week includes crews continuing to create new eastbound lanes of Grand Avenue and adding retaining wall panels for the bridge carrying Bell Road over Grand Avenue.

Bell Road remains closed in an area between Dysart and Litchfield roads to reduce the project’s length and lessen the overall impacts of construction. Access to businesses near the project will be maintained throughout.

Bell Road is scheduled to reopen to traffic by November, while the entire interchange is set for completion by spring 2017.

The primary detour routes while Bell Road is closed are Dysart, Greenway and Litchfield roads. Drivers should observe signs and speed limits. Law enforcement officers are patrolling the area.

 

SURPRISE – Grand Avenue (US 60) traffic has been switched to newly constructed westbound lanes at Bell Road in the latest milestone for an Arizona Department of Transportation project connecting the roadways with an overpass and interchange.

Crews worked overnight this week to move Grand Avenue traffic from the eastbound side of the road to the new westbound lanes between Dysart and Litchfield roads. Two-way traffic on Grand will share the westbound lanes while work advances on the Bell Road overpass and on improved eastbound US 60 lanes.

Now that the traffic switch is in place, access in and out of shopping center parking lots along Grand Avenue will occur via Towne Center Drive and Bell Grande Drive. Driveways being added in that stretch will open upon completion of the new eastbound Grand Avenue lanes.

Work to construct the deck of the Bell Road overpass is underway. All of the 89 concrete girders that are part of the bridge are in place.

Eastbound Grand Avenue is scheduled to be closed between Litchfield and Dysart roads from 10 p.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2 and from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, for bridge work. Eastbound traffic will detour along Litchfield, Greenway and Dysart roads during the overnight closures.

The recently opened 134th Avenue connection north of Bell Road and west of Dysart Road is now an improved way for drivers to access businesses in that area.

Bell Road remains temporarily closed between Dysart and Litchfield roads to reduce the project’s length and lessen the overall impact of construction. Access to nearby businesses will be maintained throughout the project.

Bell Road is scheduled to reopen to traffic by November, while the entire interchange project is set for completion by spring 2017.

The primary detour routes while Bell Road is closed are Dysart, Greenway and Litchfield roads. Drivers should observe signs and speed limits. Law enforcement officers are patrolling the area.

SURPRISE ‒ The Arizona Department of Transportation’s project to construct an overpass and interchange at Bell Road and Grand Avenue (US 60) has reached another milestone with a new 134th Avenue connection at Bell open just west of Dysart Road.

This segment connects with businesses north of Bell Road. Fresh pavement markings are in place, and the last of the barricades have been pulled away.

The new 134th Avenue curves north of Bell Road to provide an east-west connection to 134th Drive, the road that previously served as the connection to area businesses.

Among other progress on ADOT’s $41.9 million project, work to install concrete girders on support piers both east and west of Grand Avenue is scheduled to continue over the next week. Most of the girders used for the overpass will have been lifted into place by cranes by the end of the weekend of July 9-10.

Bell Road is scheduled to reopen to traffic by November, and the entire project, with ramps to and from Grand Avenue, is scheduled for completion next spring.

The overpass work will require Grand Avenue to be narrowed to one lane at times in either direction between Dysart and Litchfield roads, including overnight hours. Eastbound Grand Avenue is scheduled to be limited to one lane between Towne Center and Bell Grande drives from 10 p.m. Monday, July 11, to 5 a.m. Tuesday, July 12.

Crews continue preparing the future wider section of westbound Grand Avenue for paving. As work on the Bell Road overpass progresses, Grand Avenue traffic will be switched to the new westbound lanes.

During the week of July 11, crews also are scheduled to remove old pavement, as well as sections of curb and gutter, along the south side of Bell Road east of Grand Avenue.

While Bell Road is closed in both directions near Grand Avenue for bridge construction, access to local businesses will continue throughout. The primary detour route takes traffic along Dysart Road, Greenway Road and Litchfield Road.

Please note that local, county and state law enforcement officers are patrolling the area. Please obey all traffic signage and speed limits.

SURPRISE – Work to install girders for a Bell Road overpass at Grand Avenue (US 60) resumed Tuesday.

The installation had been on hold since June 9, when a large, steel-reinforced concrete girder fell moments after it had been lifted into place by cranes. An employee of a contractor working on the project was seriously injured but is recovering.

While the Arizona Department of Transportation and the project contractor have investigated, a precise reason for the accident has not been determined.

The 29 girders in place as of June 9, as well as the remaining girders to be installed, have been found to be structurally sound. A replacement girder was manufactured. ADOT has found no evidence that materials used to manufacture the girder that fell contributed to the accident.

In all, the overpass will have 89 steel-reinforced concrete girders ranging from 67 to 158 feet in length and weighing up to 90,000 pounds each.

The Bell Road overpass construction is part of ADOT’s $41.9 million project to construct an interchange to relieve traffic congestion at the busy intersection connecting Bell Road and Grand Avenue. Work has continued on other elements of the project.

The project team plans to complete this stage of girder installation by Sunday, July 10. Grand Avenue will be narrowed to one lane in each direction between Dysart and Litchfield roads from 8 p.m. Thursday, July 7, to 5 a.m. Friday, July 8, and again from 8 p.m. Friday, July 8, to noon Sunday, July 10, when girder placement is taking place on the bridge span closest to the roadway.

Construction of the interchange began in early February. Bell Road was closed to traffic in an area between Dysart and Litchfield roads on April 1 to allow for the accelerated construction of the overpass and limit impacts on local traffic and area businesses. The Bell Road overpass, traveling over both Grand Avenue and the nearby BNSF Railway tracks, is scheduled to open to traffic by November.

The Bell/Grand interchange is being built as a partnership between ADOT, the Federal Highway Administration, the Maricopa Association of Governments and the city of Surprise. The entire project is scheduled for completion by spring 2017.

PHOENIX – US 60 has reopened between Show Low and State Route 73 on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The highway had been closed between mileposts 318 and 337 because of the Cedar Creek Fire. Drivers should use extra caution in the area because of ongoing firefighting operations.

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

SURPRISE – As work proceeds on the Arizona Department of Transportation’s $41.9 million project to build a new interchange connecting Bell Road and Grand Avenue (US 60), an overnight lane restriction has been scheduled on Monday, June 27.

Eastbound Grand Avenue will be narrowed to one lane between Towne Center and Bell Grande drives from 8 p.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Tuesday, June 28, for concrete work near Bell Road. Westbound Bell Road traffic will not be affected.

Recent work on the project has included the paving of the soon-to-be-opened 134th Avenue connection to Bell Road, east of the future Bell Road overpass. Plans call for opening the 134th Avenue connection by July 1, providing drivers with a new way to reach several businesses north of Bell Road and west of Dysart Road.

ADOT continues its review of the June 9 fall of a girder during placement on bridge pier caps at the Bell Road overpass worksite. Worksite safety is the agency’s priority as the contractor, consulting engineers and ADOT continue to review the incident. While a date for resuming the installation of girders as part of the Bell Road overpass construction hasn’t been set, crews are continuing other work to keep the project on track, including:

• Construction of bridge piers for the future overpass west of Grand Avenue.
• Paving the widened westbound side of Grand Avenue near Bell Road. The project team expects to complete paving the wider section and add temporary lane markings next month.
• Installation of a new 12-inch water line along Bell Road west of Grand Avenue.

The entire Bell Road/Grand Avenue interchange improvement project is scheduled for completion by spring 2017.

To lessen the overall impact of construction on area businesses and drivers, ADOT worked with the city of Surprise to schedule the ongoing closure of Bell Road in an area between Dysart and Litchfield roads. Bell Road was closed to traffic April 1 and remains scheduled to reopen to traffic by November.

SURPRISE – Work is proceeding on the Arizona Department of Transportation’s $41.9 million project to build a new interchange connecting Bell Road and Grand Avenue (US 60) and reopen Bell Road to traffic by November.

Crews are focusing on paving the widened westbound portion of Grand Avenue near Bell Road. The work to pave the roadway and add temporary lane markings along that section of US 60 is scheduled for completion by July. Grand Avenue traffic currently is shifted to the eastbound section of the roadway between Bell Grande and Towne Center drives.

 

ADOT continues its review of the June 9 fall of a girder during placement on bridge pier caps at the Bell Road overpass worksite. Worksite safety is the agency’s priority as the contractor, consulting engineers and ADOT continue to review the incident. While a date for resuming the installation of girders as part of the Bell Road overpass construction hasn’t been set, crews are continuing other work to keep the project on track, including:

• Installation of new water lines along Bell Road, both west of Grand Avenue and east of 134th Drive, near Dysart Road.
• Paving of the upgraded 134th Avenue connection to Bell Road. Crews plan to open the 134th Avenue connection by early July, providing drivers with a new way to reach several businesses north of Bell and west of Dysart Road.
• Removal of the existing traffic signal at Bell Road and 134th Drive. Stop signs will continue to be used to regulate traffic until the 134th Avenue connection to Bell Road is opened.

 

The entire Bell Road/Grand Avenue interchange improvement project is scheduled for completion by spring 2017.

To lessen the overall impact of construction on area businesses and drivers, ADOT worked with the city of Surprise to schedule the ongoing closure of Bell Road in an area between Dysart and Litchfield roads. Bell Road was closed to traffic April 1 and remains scheduled to reopen to traffic by November.