PAGE – Something didn’t seem right to Thelma Begay.

Peering south toward the Glen Canyon Bridge from the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Equipment Services shop as a thunderstorm pummeled Page Friday afternoon, the account technician saw a line of traffic in both directions stopped on the bridge. She called over Shop Supervisor Scott Kennedy to take a look.

Kennedy, a 23-year resident of Page, knew something was wrong.

“Cars stopping on the bridge like that never happens, so I told her let’s drive down and see what’s going on,” Kennedy said. “Best case, it’s nothing. Worst case, we’ll see what we can do to help.”

That decision sent Page’s Equipment Services shop on a wet and muddy adventure that saved motorists from potential headaches and kept weekend getaway plans on schedule.

Kennedy and Begay hopped in one truck, while Equipment Repair Lead Technician Dustin Allen and Equipment Repair Technician Elias Tsinigine rode in another. When the two trucks made the three-quarter-mile jaunt down the hill on US 89 to the bridge, they encountered a river of mud and bowling ball-size rocks flowing across the highway at the entrance to the Glen Canyon Dam Visitor Center. Traffic heading in both directions was stop and go, and a Department of Public Safety officer was in the middle of the mudflow, directing vehicles.

Kennedy spoke to the officer and asked if ADOT had been notified. The officer said he had called in the incident, but ADOT’s Page Maintenance crews had not yet arrived to begin clearing the highway or take over traffic control.

“I told him we’d get the ball rolling,” Kennedy said.

He quickly learned that Page Maintenance crews were responding, but they were coming from the other side of the bridge and were stuck in the backup they’d been called on to clear. At ADOT, maintenance crews respond to traffic incidents for a variety of reasons, including when roadways need to be cleared of debris, when immediate roadway repairs are necessary and when DPS requests traffic control. Equipment Services is responsible for maintaining ADOT’s fleet of vehicles and its workers are rarely asked to report to an incident scene.

“The shops know when to look out for one another,” said Devin Darlek, equipment services administrator. “There have been many instances where the maintenance crews help out our shop personnel. To see it live, it’s like watching a great team playing on the field.”

By now, it was close to 1 p.m. and Kennedy knew something had to be done quickly.

“It’s a Friday afternoon,” he explained. “Everyone is coming to Lake Powell, people are towing boats, motorhomes are out there, lots of foreign tourists. It was going to be a mess.”

To Kennedy, the only option was for Equipment Services, which maintains and repairs ADOT vehicles, to step out of its comfort zone and clear US 89. On the foursome’s mind was the recent 25-month closure of US 89 south of Page because of a massive landslide.

“All four of us are cognizant of what it means to have the major route in or out of town cut off,” said Kennedy. “This was smaller, but we were definitely thinking about that.”

So, Kennedy directed Allen to drive a front-loader to the scene and clear large debris, while he and Tsinigine helped direct traffic to ensure Allen had enough space to operate. Begay stayed in a truck because the crew did not have enough orange safety vests for all to be working on the highway. The cleanup effort took about 20 minutes and traffic began flowing at a steady pace in both directions almost immediately.

“Dusty got the majority of the debris cleared,” Kennedy said. “It quit raining hard and that slowed the debris flow. Maintenance showed up and thanked us and they took over doing the dirty work of cleaning up all the muck.”

By 3:20 p.m., the highway had fully reopened, providing travelers easy passage to Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and points beyond.

Kennedy praised his co-workers for reacting quickly to a situation that called for action beyond their job descriptions, calling it a “whole team effort.”

“It was just common sense,” Kennedy said. “Felt to me like the right thing to do.”

PHOENIX — Motorists traveling on US 89 between Cameron and Page should allow for extra travel time as the Arizona Department of Transportation makes improvements to an eight-mile stretch of roadway from Gray Spot Wash to North Red Hill (mileposts 510-517), just south of the US 89/US 89A junction near Bitter Springs.

Beginning on Monday, June 1, the two-lane highway will be reduced to one lane and traffic will alternate through the work zone with the aid of a pilot car. During the one-lane restriction, delays of up to 30 minutes are possible.

In addition to resurfacing the pavement throughout the entire project length, ADOT will construct new passing lanes for north- and southbound travel (mileposts 514-515), widen the shoulders and reinforce bank protection at Tanner Wash.

The $6.9 million improvement project in Coconino County is scheduled to be completed this fall.

Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from early morning hours to sunset. No nighttime, weekend or holiday construction is anticipated.

ADOT advises drivers to proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions. Unscheduled restrictions or closures may occur. To stay up to date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at az511.gov or call 5-1-1; outside Arizona, dial 1.888.411.ROAD (7623).

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is moving onto the next phase of construction on the new roundabout at the intersection of US 89 and Haul Road in Page, beginning this Friday, May 29.

During this phase of construction the intersection of US 89 and Haul Road will have restrictions in place for east- and westbound travel on Haul Road, which will not allow cross traffic on US 89 from Haul Road.

With Haul Road temporarily closed at the US 89 junction during the roundabout construction,  motorists can connect to local businesses by using one of two new access locations along US 89: one in front of Walmart, and the other on the north side of McDonald’s.

Traffic on US 89 will be accommodated with one lane of travel in each direction, including a center turn lane. ADOT urges motorists to obey the reduced speed limit of 25 mph through the work zone.

Access to area businesses will be provided at all times during construction.  Drivers can expect congestion through the work zone and should be prepared for possible delays.  Motorists should allow for extra time and exercise caution while traveling through work zones.

The $2.3 million improvement project includes the construction of a large, two-lane roundabout that will allow oversized vehicles, including houseboats, to safely pass through the intersection. The project is expected to be completed late this year.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule. To stay up-to-date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at www.az511.gov or call 5-1-1.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has started on the reconstruction of the intersection of US 89 and Haul Road in Page to alleviate traffic congestion near the Walmart Supercenter.

Work will include constructing a large, two-lane roundabout that will allow oversized vehicles, including house boats, to safely pass through the intersection. A traditional signalized intersection would not allow for safe passage for oversized vehicles, which is common to the Lake Powell/Page region, because the signals would hang too low and would limit the size and height of tall and oversized vehicles/house boats traveling through the intersection.

Additional improvements will include a raised median, new sidewalks and ramps, new street lighting, signage and lane striping, and improved drainage.

“Building a roundabout at this intersection is the best solution to enhance safety and operational characteristics of the existing intersection,” said ADOT Flagstaff District Engineer Audra Merrick. “The roundabout design will accommodate the larger oversized vehicles hauling house boats to the Lake Powell area, which is critical.”

In an effort to expedite the project and improve safety at the US 89 intersection at milepost 547, ADOT committed additional funding to move the project forward by including it in the state’s 2015-2019 Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program.

The $2.3 million improvement project in Coconino County will include partial funding from Walmart, which agreed to construct a roundabout or other traffic control mitigation measure prior to its opening in 2006.  

Initial work will not affect mainline US 89 traffic and will be limited to drainage features and access roads near businesses in the area.

Once construction starts on the roundabout, one lane of traffic in each direction will remain open and access to businesses will be maintained via frontage road detours to minimize conflicts.

The project is expected to take up to eight months to complete.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule. To stay up-to-date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at www.az511.gov or call 5-1-1.

PHOENIX — At approximately 4:15 p.m. today, US 89 south of Page was reopened to traffic for the first time following a Feb. 20, 2013, landslide that caused catastrophic damage to the roadway, requiring a 23-mile closure between the junction of State Route 98 in Page and US 89A near Bitter Springs.

In order to reopen the US 89 roadway today, the Arizona Department of Transportation completed an extensive $25 million repair, which included removing approximately one million cubic yards of rock material to realign a 1,500-foot section of roadway and construct a downslope rock buttress at the base of the Echo Cliffs to stabilize the area.

School buses from the Page Unified School District were the first vehicles to pass through the newly rebuilt roadway.

For more than two years, community members – including school children – of Bitter Springs, Marble Canyon and Cedar Ridge have used alternate routes, including the Temporary US 89 route that was opened in August 2013, to and from the Page and Lake Powell areas following the US 89 landslide.

“This is great news for those living and working in the area,” said city of Page Mayor Bill Diak. “It will shorten the commute of our school children that live below the closure by some 94 miles a day. For many of the river-related businesses, this means that their days just became more profitable. For the city of Page this means we will get our main access back. Life is good in Page and now even easier to get to. Come and enjoy!”

US 89T, which had served as the primary detour route to connect to the Page and Lake Powell areas following a $35 million project to upgrade Navajo Route 20, is expected to be relinquished to the Navajo Nation on April 17 when the State Transportation Board convenes in Phoenix. The 44-mile route was mostly a dirt road before being paved during a three-month-long project in summer 2013.

Prior to starting the US 89 landslide repair in summer 2014, ADOT had to clear several significant hurdles to keep the project moving forward. After an extensive geotechnical assessment identified the necessary repairs in July 2013, ADOT retained an engineering firm through an innovative construction delivery method (Construction Manager at Risk), which allowed the contractor to work directly with the design team and develop plans for the eventual repair. ADOT and the team also finalized all federally required environmental reviews that included cultural, biological and water quality measures, and completed plans for the required right-of-way easements with the Navajo Nation.

“The damage to the roadway looked like a scene out of a Hollywood movie and unfortunately a quick fix was not possible,” said ADOT Intermodal Transportation Division Director Steve Boschen. “From day one, we were committed to restoring mobility to the area as soon as possible with the paving of N20 (US 89T), but the real fix is now here with today’s opening.

“Reopening US 89 was the last step and with the commitment from our valued partners, including the Navajo Nation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Division of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, and our contractors FNF Construction and Kleinfelder, we were able to expedite the US 89 repairs and reopen as soon as possible despite many challenges along the way.”

The US 89 landslide repair project is eligible for reimbursement through the Federal Highway Administration’s emergency relief program, which provides funding to state and local agencies for the repair or reconstruction of highways, roads and bridges that are damaged in natural disasters and catastrophic failures.