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Arizona isn’t known for its harsh, winter weather conditions, but that doesn’t mean we don’t see some considerable snowfall during our colder months.

When a new highway operation technician is hired by ADOT, they’ve got one year to complete some basic training …

You know when you drive under or over a freeway bridge that it’s a massive structure… There are the two abutments (the upright supporting structures at each end that carries the load of the bridge span), there are usually center columns or piers, and, of course, the girders and the bridge deck (the part you actually drive across).

They're typically headed to one of the country’s biggest tourist destinations -- the Grand Canyon. One of the main routes to the popular south entrance happens to be State Route 64, which takes motorists right through the middle of Tusayan (pop. 560). The small town gets a lot of pedestrian and vehicle traffic and understandably there have been some concern related to all the activity on SR 64.

Construction got started earlier this fall on a project that’s designed to bring some big improvements for a stretch of Interstate-10 in the Tucson area. The I-10 widening project from Ruthrauff Road to Prince Road will not only expand the freeway to four lanes in each direction, but will also reconstruct the Prince Road traffic interchange so the road will pass over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and I-10. New landscaping and entrance and exit ramp improvements are also part of the plan.

Several miles of new HOV lanes opened earlier this week in Chandler and the West Valley … just in time for the Monday morning commute!

What are your thoughts on the possibility of a new transportation connection between Phoenix and Tucson? If you travel between these two major metropolitan areas, the Arizona Department of Transportation wants to hear from you!

When ADOT has a freeway to build, many steps must be taken long before any asphalt is paved. One of those initial tasks involves pre-wetting the soil, which entails pretty much exactly what you think it does … crews put sprinkler systems into place and water the dirt!

A new school year is in full swing and now is the time for Arizona educators to take advantage of the $5 million in grants available from Safe Routes to School!

It’s been just about six months, but today the residents of Mescal and J-Six Ranch got their bridge back and can finally say goodbye to one lengthy detour!

When the editorial team at Roads & Bridges makes choices for the magazine’s annual Top 10 Roads list, many factors are considered. But, according to Editorial Director Bill Wilson, it’s the challenges faced in building each nominated road and the project’s impact that get the closest looks. Maybe that’s why the Loop 303 (Happy Valley Road to Lake Pleasant Parkway) made it to this year’s top 10!

Last week when we told you about National Preparedness Month, we briefly detailed the role ADOT plays when it comes to public safety. But, there’s a whole lot more to say on the subject, and who better to write about it than ADOT’s very own Emergency Manager…

If you’ve been following along in the blog, you know that we’ve been chronicling ADOT’s reconstruction of the Mescal/J-Six bridge in southern Arizona since it was severely damaged when two semi trucks collided underneath it back in March. Completion of the fast-tracked bridge reconstruction is slated for later this month.

Now that you know a little about the ADOT permitting process involved with moving oversize loads, take a look at the latest heavy haul to cross Arizona’s highways. The video above shows just a portion of the journey this 285-ton load took beginning the first week of August.

Last week we gave you an update on how the new Mescal/J-Six bridge is coming along... You might also remember that the night the damaged bridge was taken down, the old Marsh Station bridge was also demolished just a few miles away. It was a huge project that required completely shutting down I-10 for the night.

With roughly 240,000 vehicles driving through it each day, the I-10 Deck Park Tunnel needs the night off every once in a while for a good, thorough scrub! Just about every four months, the tunnel is closed to traffic in order to allow crews the chance to wash the walls, maintain the ventilation systems and check on the tunnel’s 3,700 light fixtures (about 150-200 light bulbs are changed out each quarter!).

Remember when we first blogged about Arizona’s Long-Range Transportation Plan? It’s the plan that’s updated every five years and helps set ADOT’s priorities when it comes to the state’s transportation needs over the next 25 years.

Think back to 1984. You might recall that the United States hosted the summer Olympics in Los Angeles and Michael Jackson’s Thriller snagged eight Grammy Awards. It’s also when the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) identified the need for a West Valley regional connector freeway later to be dubbed Loop 303.

Some terrain is so rough and rocky that even heavy-duty machinery can’t break through. That was the case last Thursday when ADOT crews used more than 7,000 lbs. of explosives to remove roughly 8,000 cubic yards of material along SR 260, about 20 miles east of Payson.

On June 6, more than 300 soldiers with the 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion returned home to Ft. Huachuca after serving in Iraq for the past year. These soldiers were welcomed by family, friends and community – but, many also were greeted with the fact that there is so much to take care after you’ve been away from home for 12 months.