If there is one motto that we would like all drivers to observe, it's buckle up and drive safe.

But if there are two mottos we would like all drivers to observe, it's buckle up and drive safe and to always take time to read historical markers.

State highways take you to some incredible places, often by ways of small towns or communities that have a lot more history than you think. Take US 70, for example, as it traces a path between Globe and Safford, moving through the San Carlos Reservation. An intrepid ADOT employee was recently in the area and snapped a few shots of historical markers along the way. 

For example, you may have driven through the community of Bylas, but did you ever stop to wonder how it got its name? Turns out that if you stop at a monument erected in 2018, you will find that Bylas is actually the name of an Eastern White Mountains Apache chief. Bylas (or Bailish depending on your transiteration of the original Apache) settled in the area when the White Mountain Apache were forced to relocate to San Carlos in the 1870s. Even after they were allowed to return to their traditional lands, Bylas and his family chose to stay and build their lives there. 

Though Chief Bylas and his immediate family were killed by the chief of the Warm Springs Apache, some of his descdents still live in the community named after him. 

Just down the road from Bylas you'll pass another historical marker for the former community of Geronimo. As you might have guessed, the location was named for THE Geronimo, whose stiff resistance to the U.S. Army made him one of the most well known Native Americans ever. 

So famous, in fact, that we aren't going to get into the life and times of Geronimo the man here. But the marker did get us curious so we looked a little more into the community of Geronimo. 

In his book, "Roadside History of Arizona," state historian Marshall Trimble states that the community, just across the boundary of the San Carlos Reservation, was a haven for outlaws and others on the lam during warmer weather. Because most of the buildings were flat-roofed adobe, someone on the run would get on roof, pull up the ladder after them and get a good night's sleep without having to worry about being surprised. 

But Trimble spends most of his time describing Geronimo's resident con man, "Doctor" Richard Flower. Flower was a consumate snake-oil salesman, hawking a cure-all he claimed would help everything from baldness to a toothache. Trimble makes sure to point out "Doc Flower's" recipe had no actual value besides having a lot of alcohol mixed in. 

However, the good doctor decided to move past his penny-ante operation and get into the big times. To that end he gathered up his ore, headed east and started selling shares in the "Spendazuma" mine. Mining was big business in those days and eager investors were always looking for the next big strike, like those that had launched Tombstone, Wickenburg or Prescott. 

There was just one problem.

A newspaper reporter went to see this mine that was exciting so much interest, and found nothing more than an elaborate set. As you can imagine, the paper ran that story and Flower's investors evaporated. 

Whew – that is a lot of history and we got that from looking at just two markers that are relatively close together! Imagine what else you can learn from stopping at the many others set up along the highways and at rest areas across the state.

Just please promise us you will drive safely to go see them. 

Highway construction is and has been labor-intensive, but after we found this photo we couldn't be happier to be living in our modern, mechanized age.

Because these folks here driving the livestock are not farmers out plowing a field. They are actually Arizona Highway Department crews in the process of grading a highway. US 60 between Salome and Aguila, to be exact. This mule-driven photo is from Dec. 7, 1933.

As you might know, grading is the process of smoothing the base layer of a road to remove divots, washboards and other high or low points. For dirt roads, such as this stretch of US 60 (which would also be co-signed with US 70 for a time), grading is basically all the roadwork and maintenance that is done. Today construction crews have grading machines for this type of work. We can only imagine those machines are a bit more reliable than the mules and produce less ... um ... waste.

The year this photo was snapped is significant because it was actually a bit of turning point for highway construction in Arizona. According to our report on the state's transporation history, that year the federal Public Works Administration gave Arizona $5.2 million for road projects, which covered hundreds of miles of grading and draining, oiling, sealing and paving, along with bridge construction, shoulder-widening and railroad-crossing construction.

By 1933, Arizona was also the leading state in the West when it came to oiling, or spraying "low-type bituminous surfacing" on, gravel roads. At the start of the year, more than 1,000 miles of state highways had been oiled, and when State Route 87 in Chandler was surfaced, for the first time a person could drive between Phoenix and Tucson without driving on a single stretch of a gravel road. At the end of 1933, the state reported that all its highways, with limited exceptions, had been oiled or actually paved.

That's all fascianting for us, but it most likely meant little to our mule-driving friends here, who were probably just happy if their stubborn charges kept the grader moving.

 

By David Rookhuyzen / ADOT Communications

It's a MacGuffin worthy of a Ray Chandler novel or Indiana Jones movie: What happened to the missing 12 miles on US 70's mile markers in southeastern Arizona?

Those who have driven this highway between Bylas and Safford might have noticed that the mile markers suddenly jump from 314 to 326.

So what happened? Hilarious prank? Brazen theft? Tear in the space-time continuum?

The real answer is likely a lot more mundane. We can't say for sure, but here's an educated guess.

It helps to know that US 70 is an historic route with deep roots in the area. It was first commissioned in the mid-1930s as a transcontinental highway, but the Arizona portion follows the old Gila River Trail, used by wagons and railroads in the 1800s, and was a state highway in the early 1900s.

We do know that after Coolidge Dam created the San Carlos Reservoir along the Gila River the route of the highway was adjusted to lead to the new man-made lake. And that in 1956 it was adjusted back to the original – and shorter – route it still has today.

Because of that shift, our maintenance and engineering district serving the southeast part of Arizona says it's entirely possible the missing 12 miles come from what's known as an "equation," a jump in numbering that kept the current alignment's mileposts on track without having to change all the mile markers going to the New Mexico state line, some 60-plus miles to the east. Keeping the new alignment's mile markers consistent coming from the west was also important because at that time US 70 didn't end at Globe but the California state line.

So the 12 miles may not exactly be missing. But like all good MacGuffins, there's just enough mystery to keep us interested.

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

An ADOT project has made crossing US 70 safer for those living in the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation community of Bylas.

Community leaders and ADOT officials have turned on a pedestrian hybrid beacon giving those on foot a signal to use a crosswalk while alerting drivers to stop.

Bylas is located in Graham County, about 44 miles east of Globe and about 34 miles west of Safford.

The beacon is located Centerpoint Road near Mount Turnbull Apache Market, at a marked crosswalk located at a spot with no traffic signal. It uses a system of indicator lights and signs.

Pedestrians push a button to activate the beacon, then cross safely when the WALK symbol appears. For a more detailed explanation of how the system works, click on the video above.

Pedestrian hybrid beacons have been installed across the nation, including the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas, to improve pedestrian safety. This is the second pedestrian-activated beacon in this part of Arizona. The first is near Globe High School on US 60.

By Steve Elliott / ADOT Communications

Last week we let you know about two projects improving US 70 on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in east-central Arizona.

This post highlights one of those projects and the improvements underway in a reservation community about halfway between Globe and Safford. In addition to repaving US 70 between mileposts 293 and 297, this $9 million project is making some big changes for the better in Bylas, including raised medians, pedestrian walkways, a pedestrian hybrid beacon and drainage work.

The photos above, taken in February, show the many upgrades coming to this community.

The work includes adding a pedestrian hybrid beacon, which helps pedestrians safely cross the road. That will be the first on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. Information about how the beacon works is available at azdot.gov/phb.

By David Rookhuyzen / ADOT Communications

The visuals may be a little better these days, but there’s definitely a lot to recognize in this map presented at a 1971 public hearing on a proposed connector for US 60 and US 70 in Globe.

The current route of US 60 between the metro Phoenix area and Superior, Miami and Globe was mostly determined in the 1940s and 1950s. Between Miami and Globe, most of the route was built and modernized to four lanes using existing city streets in the 1950s. In Globe in particular, that meant mainly Hill Street. That finally changed in 1977 when the highway was moved off the narrow city streets to the route that exists today.

According to a 1971 Draft Environmental Impact Statement produced by the Arizona Highway Department (the precursor to ADOT) and the Federal Highway Administration, the goal of the road realignment was a “safer, more capacious through route” that would address congestion in Globe “produced by the hazardous convergence of local and foreign traffic…” Average daily traffic on the highway at the time was calculated at 10,000 vehicles per day, the document says.

Part of the problem, according to statement, is the speed limit dropped from 50 to 60 mph, on either side of Globe, to 25 mph in the more congested parts of the city. Two 90-degree turns at intersections were another challenge. The road was also prone to complete stoppage due to vehicles trying to make a left-hand turn off the highway.

Some thought was given to widening and resurfacing the existing highway, and to adding more traffic signals, but that was deemed unfeasible because of the heavy volume of traffic. The Arizona Highway Department also offered a slightly tweaked alternate route around downtown Globe as a possibility.

A public meeting was scheduled for April 28, 1971, in the American Legion Building on Broad Street in Globe to talk about the proposed connector.

And that’s what this photo is about – meeting with locals to discuss the road’s new alignment. You can see the public turnout (and presumable interest) for yourself.

Much has changed since this meeting – including our name and definitely the quality of our poster boards ­– but the one constant is our commitment to gathering public input to design the best improvements for you.

Just a few recent examples of this: Last month, ADOT held a public meeting in Black Canyon City to discuss improvements to Interstate 17 between Anthem and Cordes Junction. The agency held two public meetings in Flagstaff on May 3 and May 10 to discuss US 180 and Milton Road. It also has two upcoming meetings planned on May 22 and May 30 in Ahwatukee and Laveen to discuss two additional interchanges under consideration for the South Mountain Freeway.

So next time we advertise a public meeting, know that we are committed to hearing from you about what you want in your roadways – and that we do a better job taping maps to walls now.

After 56 years, it’s time for the old Gila River Bridge to retire…

Located on US 70 about a mile west of the Bylas community on the San Carlos Apache reservation, the bridge, which was built in 1957, is now being demolished.

But don’t worry. Motorists will still have a bridge to serve their needs. In fact, the new bridge sits right next to where the old bridge stood.

We told you about this project last summer, but here’s a little refresher:

The old 23-span steel girder bridge was in use until the new 15-span precast concrete girder bridge was constructed and opened to drivers. The $12.7 million replacement project not only gives drivers a new bridge with wider travel lanes and emergency shoulders, but the project includes intersection improvements and a pedestrian walkway, too.

You can see in the video above that the need for a new bridge stemmed from the condition of the old bridge – it was just inadequate for the needs of traffic in the area.

“We’ve had weight limitations for the last couple of years, so the big trucks can’t even cross the bridge,” Safford District Resident Engineer Brian Jevas says.

Safford District Engineer Bill Harmon explains further…

“The bridge that’s being demolished right now was constructed in 1957 and it was showing its age. It was what we call functionally obsolete – it was narrow,” says Harmon, adding that the new bridge has wider lanes, shoulders and a walkway.

Once demo on the old bridge is complete by the end of next week, crews will still need to come back to the site and finish up some paving work. That’s scheduled to start in mid-April and should be done by the end of May.

One more bit of information…
Demolition crews have taken steps to prevent pieces of the old bridge from falling into the water below.

Since the river is running very narrow right now, the water is only below one of the 23 spans of the deck. Beneath that deck is a chain-link net to catch large debris coming off the old bridge during demolition. Downstream from the bridge, a catchment fence has been placed in the river bed to capture any smaller debris so it can be removed from the river channel.