In less than 48 hours after heavy rains and flood waters took down a 30-foot section of US 89 north of Flagstaff near Cameron in 2018, ADOT had the highway reopened to traffic.

In order to reopen the highway in less than two days after the flood damage, more than 40 ADOT personnel responding from as far away as Page, Payson and Williams had to thoroughly assess the site, excavate the damaged areas, haul in and compact 500 cubic yards of material to restore the roadway’s base, and put down 120 tons of asphalt pavement.

You can see in this photo just how much work that was!

As well-done as those emergency repairs were, a permanent solution is needed. Now, ADOT is starting a project to do just that for this section of highway.

The work consists of reconstructing that segment of US 89, improving the drainage system in the area and removing an old abandoned bridge.

During this project ADOT will utilize smart work zone technology to help maintain traffic flow and reduce the potential for crashes. Portable message boards will be placed ahead of the work zone with real time traffic speed information giving drivers a heads up as they approach. 

The $1.7 million project is expected to be completed by the fall.

In addition to serving local traffic, this stretch of highway is a significant travel corridor for people heading to tourist destinations such as the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Monument Valley and other locations. 

Veterans Day has been a federally observed holiday since 1954, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed it and expanded its observance from the earlier World War I-focused Armistice Day to a larger acknowledgement of all those who have fought in the U.S. Armed Services. 

"In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose," Eisenhower wrote in his first Veterans Day Proclamation.

We heartily agree with that sentiment, which is why several years back we highlighted how more highways than you might think are named to honor veterans.

But since we wrote that, a few more highways in northern Arizona have been added to the list, but with a more specific – and appropriate – focus.

In 2019, a joint resolution of the Arizona State Senate named portions of US 89, State Route 264 and US 160 to honor the Native American veterans who have served so ably in the miltiary. The resolution provided those highways be renamed as follows:

• US 89 between Flagstaff and the Utah state line is designated the "Native American Veterans Highway."
• The portion of State Route 264 that runs through the Navajo Reservation is designated the "Navajo Code Talker Highway," while the portion on the Hopi Reservation is designated the "Hopi Code Talker Highway."
• US 160 between the junction with US 89 and the New Mexico state line is designated "Native American Women Veterans Highway."

The resolution provides ample reasons for naming these highways for Native American veterans including:

• "Native Americans have served in wars involving the United States from Valley Forge to the hostilities in Afghanistan and Iraq; and ... with the highest record of military service of any group in the United States."
• "Navajo Marine Corps radio operators, who became known as as the 'Navajo Code Talkers,' developed an unbreakable code using their nation's language to communicate military messages."
• "Ten Hopi men developed a code language that they used to assist United States army intelligence in the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia and the Philippines during World War II."
• "Fourteen Native American women served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War I ... 800 Native American women served in the military from 1941 to 1945; and ... nearly 3,900 among 1.4 million active duty military are Native American women."

Whereever you are this Veterans Day, we hope you are remembering those who served. But if you happen to be in the area of Page, Tuba City, First Mesa, Ganado or otherwise on the state highway system in northeastern Arizona, this is a good time to remember how Native Americans have contributed to the country's military history. 

At first glance this photo might seem a little ordinary. A couple vehicles driving down a road next to some powerlines and buildings.

For those who enjoy visiting Lake Powell or, like us, are road buffs, you'll recognize this as the US 89 bridge that crosses the Colorado River just south of the Glen Canyon Dam near Page. Though, truth be told, that doesn't make this photo seem less pedestrian (pun intended).

But when we found this undated photo in our archive, we started thinking about that bridge and the US highway that runs over it. What could this ordinary scene tell us about Arizona's transportation history?

As we've told you about before, US 89 is actually the first designated north-south highway in the state and was part of the first batch of highways to actually be given a number in the mid-1920s. Our 2012 Transportation History report has a whole section just on this one highway, which adds that at one point US 89 stretched between Canada and Mexico, and was planned to be part of a projected intercontinental road that would have ended in Buenos Aires.

For the first few decades of its existence, US 89 actually stretched between Nogales in the south and Fredonia in the north, connecting Tucson, Florence, Mesa, Phoenix, Wickenburg, Prescott, Ash Fork and Flagstaff. As part of its traversing of the state, it crossed two important bridges, at Cameron over the Little Colorado River and then Marble Canyon over the Colorado River.

With the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam in 1963 and the bridge in this photo the following year, US 89's route was changed to swing through Page and then down to Flagstaff, making the Fredonia to Bitter Springs section the alternative, or US 89A. And, like most of the early highways, US 89 was heavily impacted by the interstates, which took away much of its raison d'être as a major north-south connector. By 1992, all but the northermost stretch had been decomissioned as a US highway. 

Once you consider all that, we guess it makes this photo look a lot less ordinary. What additional fascinating bits of highway history might be sitting under other well-traveled routes?

Today three bridges cross the Little Colorado River near Cameron. The newest two spans for north- and- southbound traffic are flanked by the original 1911 crossing that today carries only an oil pipe.

As Arizona grew after becoming a state, so did the need for trappers, traders, and prospectors to cross the Little Colorado. Increasingly sophisticated bridges were constructed at the site in 1911, 1958 and 2016, which is where the Arizona Highway Department, and later ADOT, comes in.

But at the turn of the 20th century, there were no bridges.

“This was out in the middle of no-where,” said Merlin Carson, 78, an aero-space engineer turned Native American art expert who spends his days at the historic Cameron Trading Post. “There was nothing but sheep trails all over the place and a great many trading posts.”

The main way to cross the river at the edge of the Hopi and Navajo reservations was Tanner’s Crossing, named after Mormon prospector Seth Tanner from Tuba City. However, the rocky ford left much to be desired. Flooding and quicksand were unpredictable and dangerous.

BRIDGE PROJECT I

In March of 1911, Congress appropriated $90,000 for construction of a bridge built by the Midland Bridge Co. for the Office of Indian Affairs.

“At that time, there were hardly any cars,” Carson said. “It was a bridge for the Navajo people. The bridge was the earliest safe crossing of the river. It was meant for walking across with your cattle or your sheep.”

There's even a story that in 1937 a large herd of sheep crossing the bridge caused it to sway badly and nearly collapse, leading to some repairs to shore it up. 

The Cameron Construction Bridge is an engineering marvel that played a large role in Arizona’s growth, according to an Arizona State Historic Preservation Office report.

According to the report, the bridge “is significant for its association with the initial growth of Arizona’s highway system as a major bridge which opened the northern portion of the state to development … A hybrid of suspension and truss forms, the bridge has engineering significance as the oldest surviving highway suspension bridge in the state and that utilized novel engineering techniques to cross the wide canyon of the Little Colorado River.”  

Decades passed, technology advanced and foot traffic gave way to large vehicles. By the mid-1950s this became a problem as the old bridge was not capable of carrying heavy construction equipment needed to build the Glen Canyon Dam.

BRIDGE PROJECT II

It was a fight in Congress to get funding for the next bridge. The leading advocate was Arizona Sen. Carl Trumbull Hayden, who was elected in 1912 as the state’s first congressman and retired 56 years later after serving seven terms in the US Senate.

He wielded great power in his role as Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, and it was in this position that he argued eloquently and successfully for nearly $1 million in funding to build the Cameron Truss Bridge.

“I have in mind particularly construction of the bridge across the Little Colorado River in Arizona, absolutely essential in order to get material out to Glen Canyon Dam that is to be built,” Hayden said during hearings on Supplemental Appropriation Bill, 1958, according to a report in the Library of Congress.

“The present structure will not carry a heavy load, and the State of Arizona has obtained a very favorable contract for the bridge.”

To further accommodate construction equipment, US 89 was widened at that time and modernized from Flagstaff to Page.

In 1959, the Cameron Truss Bridge was completed over the Little Colorado just east of the original 1911 bridge. The truss bridge was useful for the next 57 years. That's just one year more than Hayden, its champion, served in Congress.

BRIDGE PROJECT III

In 2014, work began on an ambitious ADOT project that included tearing down the truss bridge and erecting a modern, wider crossing in its place. It was part of a $38 million, two-year project that also included expanding US 89 from two lanes to four and adding three miles of upgrades south of the bridge. New sidewalks, streetlights and four pedestrian and livestock underpasses were completed.

Before work on the new bridge could kick into gear, engineers faced the formidable challenge of removing the solid, heavy, steel truss bridge. Engineers solved it by first removing the deck, then cutting the remaining structure into six pieces, which were disassembled and hauled off site.

The modern replacement has two bridges, one each for northbound and southbound traffic. Each lane measures 12 feet.  

When it was completed in 2016 it became the new neighbor of the old 1911 bridge. That first span doesn't carry traffic anymore, but utility lines over the Little Colorado River. While its usefulness as a traffic bridge has long ended, it continues serving Arizona faithfully.

It’s among the lures of travelers who frequent the historic Cameron Trading Post, where you might run into art expert Carson.

And the new bridge at Cameron? Like its forebearers, it will serve travelers for decades to come.

Today there are more than 85 highways crisscrossing Arizona that will get you where you need to go. No matter if you are traveling from Winkleman to Superior, Springerville to Sanders, or Lake Havasu City to Quartzsite, there's a highway to get you there.

But it this wasn't always the case. In fact, it was 110 years ago this month that Arizona took major steps in constructing the first north-south highway across the state.

It was with some jubilation that the Arizona Journal-Miner in Prescott welcome the arrival of civil engineer F. R. Goodman on Tuesday, May 10, 1910, proclaiming that the event "practically inaugurated the work on the Territorial north-and-south highway."

As our comprehensive history of transportation in the state says, the north-south highway they reference is one of the two original state roads envisioned by the Territorial Legislature in 1909. An east-west highway would run between Duncan and Yuma. The north-south highway would go between Douglas and the Grand Canyon. To make this a reality, in 1909 the legislature put all territorial road construction under the position of the Territorial Engineer, who was required to be "a practical competent civil engineer." That person was J.B. Girand, Goodman's boss.

Goodman arrived in Prescott to oversee construction of the first 12-mile segment of the highway. The contract for the road was awarded to a company called Johnson & Shea of Riverside, California, one of four bids received. 

According to the Journal-Miner, Girand was expected to arrive the next morning and to stay to oversee the work. 

The Arizona Republican published an update on May 27, 1910, saying that work on the road was "underway and is proceeding satisfactory." There were somewhere between 30 and 40 people already working on the project, but "it is expected soon that the force will include somewhere between seventy and a hundred men." Unlike modern State Route 89, which runs southwest toward Wickenburg, this road was heading direclty south and would have to go over a pass near Mount Union, like what you can see in this 1914 map of the proposed system. The maximum grade was supposed to be 6 percent. 

"It will afford one of the finest scenic roadways in the west when utilized, as well as one of the most substantial," the Journal-Miner said. 

As picturesque as that sounds, more than a year later it was not yet finished. On July 7, 1911, the Holbrook News reported that Girand was going to again be in Prescott to oversee the continuation of the road past the initial 12 miles. Once that segment had advanced sufficiently, similar construction would start north from Flagstaff toward the Grand Canyon, the paper reported. During the the last three years before statehood, crews completed 145 miles of road.

In the meantime, the Holbrook News said "there is now a very respectable substitute in the old road via Wickenburg ... Travelers to Prescott can get through with their automobiles very nicely now, even though the road is not what they would like, nor what the territorial highway will be when finished." 

It seems that respectable substitute would become that de facto road, as a 1917 map of the state shows the route between Phoenix and Prescott going through Wickenburg and Congress. This would be the route US 89 would go in the 1920s after a shorter connector between Prescott and Wickenburg was completed. By the end of the decade, that highway would run the length of the state between Nogales and the Utah state line.

The drive for a state highway system eventually led to the myriad of routes we enjoy today. Girand got it right when he assured the Holbrook News that "the territorial highway system is growing into a gigantic undertaking, but one that will be a monument to this day and generation, a developing influence throughout the territory, the value of which cannot be overestimated."

By John Halikowski / ADOT Director

Partnerships are invaluable to the Arizona Department of Transportation. When a situation unfolds where we have to close a section of highway, we call upon law enforcement and key stakeholders to work with us to find and implement solutions. The recent emergency repairs to US 89 in northern Arizona illustrate the importance of partnerships.

While receiving much needed rain for our state, Hurricane Rosa caused damage to a section of US 89 between Flagstaff and Page. The damage was a 30-foot section of road and the earth beneath it. ADOT had to move quickly to close the highway and establish a detour route that included traveling on Navajo Nation and Hopi tribal land.

We had crews work around-the-clock to keep the public safe, assess the damage, excavate the area, haul in and compact 500 cubic yards of material to restore the roadway’s base and put down 120 tons of asphalt – all done in less than 48 hours. I am proud of the dedication of so many ADOT personnel, men and women, who responded immediately and worked tirelessly so we could reopen US 89 again for residents and the traveling public.

Such an accomplishment was not possible without the partnerships ADOT has with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, leaders with the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe, Coconino County and the Federal Highway Administration. Everyone worked together to quickly and safely implement a detour route, and a plan to repair and reopen this stretch of roadway.

The repair work is short-term in nature so motorists should expect reduced speed limits through the area. To prepare for a project that will make longer-term repairs, ADOT will be assessing roadway and drainage conditions in the immediate area.

There’s value in partnerships!

This post originally appeared on ADOT Director John Halikowski's
LinkedIn page. He has led the agency since 2009.