Work on the Hell Canyon Bridge replacement project is really moving along…

As you can see in the video above, crews are placing girders for the new, wider bridge set to replace the 1950s-era bridge that drivers use today.

The work is all part of a $14.4 million improvement project that includes the construction of the new bridge (it’ll be a four-span steel-plate girder bridge), the eventual removal of the old bridge and some additional road construction/realignment work to the north and south of the new bridge.

The new 665-foot-long two-lane bridge will feature wider travel lanes and will be approximately 47 feet wide, more than 17 feet wider than the current bridge. The bridge will also accommodate heavier loads, making it more convenient for commercial trucks to carry goods and produce to their final destinations.

This project animation gives a good look at what to expect as the work progresses. See some recent photos of the project on our Flickr page.

When Arizona’s latest winter storm hit Sunday evening, ADOT crews went into high gear. Snowplow operators across northern Arizona and other areas where snow fell worked into the night and on through to Monday evening before the storm let up. Their efforts helped keep highways open and traffic flowing.

In ADOT’s North-Central District, based in Flagstaff, Maintenance Engineer Kurtis Harris says a combination of equipment, people, training and advanced planning make for a successful response to a winter storm. And that doesn’t include just the 100-plus snowplow operators on call when the storm hit.

Three motorist-assist groups were stationed on I-17 and parts of I-40 to respond to any drivers in need of help. These crews travel in four-wheel drive vehicles equipped with salt, cinder, shovels and other equipment to help motorists and quickly radio requests for DPS or tow trucks.

“They look for stranded motorists or those who have slid off the road,” Harris says. “Getting stuck vehicles off the road or moving again goes a long way in preventing road closures.”

The snowstorm also gave the North-Central District a chance to try out ADOT’s brand new TowPlow.

Never heard of a TowPlow? It’s a steerable trailer with a 26-foot blade that’s attached to the back of a regular snowplow truck. The combination, able to plow a 24-foot-wide path, lets ADOT clear more lanes in less time using less fuel. ADOT’s TowPlow joins a fleet of 200 traditional snowplows and is assigned to 20 miles of I-40 between Williams and Bellemont west of Flagstaff.

Harris also notes that during storm events, road-closure teams stand by, ready with cones and equipment to quickly and safely set up closures and detours when necessary.

During a winter storm, much of the action is out on the roads, but there’s also a ton of work and coordination happening behind the scenes.

“All of us have a responsibility for keeping the roads open and safe,” Harris says.

That of course extends to drivers, too.

For snow safety tips, visit azdot.gov/KnowSnow. You can also revisit our previous posts for more information on how ADOT prepares for the winter storm season (this video in particular is a good one to watch, if you want a behind the scenes look at how snowplow drivers train).

If you’ve been following ADOT on social media or here on this blog, you already know about the improvement projects happening along the US 60 corridor near Superior.

We blogged about them on 10/09/15 and 5/15/15 and have been posting updates to Facebook and Twitter when blasting occurs on the Oak Flat area of the corridor (just in case you missed it, check out this cool Facebook video that shows one of those blasts).

You can find the very latest update on all the projects in this news release on 01/14/16, but today we’re going to focus on the stretch of the highway in the Oak Flat area…

Located just east of Superior, this project includes the addition of a two-mile-long westbound passing lane (mileposts 231-233), shoulder widening in Devil’s Canyon (mileposts 233-234), bridge work at Waterfall Canyon (milepost 229) and drainage improvements (milepost 242).

Work started last summer and has required occasional closures, usually lasting up to 90 minutes, to allow for crews to safely complete blasting operations.

About those blasts…

Back when we wrote this blog post, we said the blasting was expected to continue through the end of 2015. But, as you can see in the video above, the blasting is still necessary.

As Senior Community Relations Officer Rodney Wigman explains, the contractor had a “better way to build this road” that requires the road to be built back into the embankment rather than out to a retaining wall. That means more blasting.

Crews have already cleared approximately 58,000 cubic yards of the rock embankment, but an estimated 50,000 cubic yards of earth still needs to be excavated. ADOT expects the blasting work to wrap up by the end of April.

“The state of Arizona and the Arizona Department of Transportation definitely appreciates the public’s patience while we build this important road,” Wigman says. “We just think it will be a better product, it will be a safer product and we’ll save money in doing it.”

You can find more project details, including upcoming closure/blasting notices on our website. You’ll also find those reminders on the ADOT website’s homepage and social media channels. For email updates, be sure to subscribe.

Cooperation and partnerships are important on any big project, but maybe even more so on one like the I-15 Virgin River Bridge No. 6 rehabilitation.

The site’s remote location and the fact that there are limited alternative routes make collaboration crucial.

“ADOT tries to meet with local government and emergency responders on every project and talk about emergency access plans,” says ADOT engineer Adam Carreon. “Everybody knows what’s happening, everybody knows what our options are. We plan for any event and when something happens we all know what we’re doing.”

That planning paid off recently...

As you can see in the video above, the driver of a truck pulling a set of triple trailers through the work zone lost control of the third trailer – it tipped and fell against the median wall. After the driver pulled over, two of the trailers were still blocking the highway.

The ensuing coordination between the Department of Public Safety, ADOT and the contractor got traffic moving quickly and ultimately saved drivers from delays of about three hours.

Learn more on why partnering is valuable by checking out these previous posts. You can also find project details on our blog.

You might not associate ADOT with firefighter training, but there is a connection…

Earlier this year, we blogged about ADOT’s Right Of Way Group and how that team is responsible for acquiring property rights necessary for highways, maintenance facility sites and even material pits. Sometimes those properties contain structures that can be used for training, as today’s video shows.

“In this particular case, first responders approached ADOT and ADOT was more than willing to provide the structures for them to be able to practice in and receive the training they do,” says Raul Torres of ADOT’s right-of-way property management group.

The partnership works out well by giving first responders the opportunity to train in a realistic setting.

“To have an opportunity to train in a live training scenario when there’s not an actual emergency going on is a great thing for us and it’s a great thing especially for our probationary firefighters,” Phoenix Fire Department Captain Ardell Deliz said.

For more on ADOT’s Right of Way Group, visit our website or check out this blog post and video from April.

With hundreds of blog posts in our archives, we understand if you haven’t had a chance to read them all.

However, there’s a lot of interesting content in those early posts and we don’t want you to miss out. That’s why we’re looking back and highlighting some of our favorites in a series called, “From the Rearview Mirror.”

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Have you all been good this year? Santa is watching even when he’s busy delivering toys to members of the Havasupai Tribe with some help from the U.S. Marines. This video, originally posted Dec. 12, 2012, is one of our favorites. It shows how ADOT’s Grand Canyon Airport played a role in helping Santa deliver toys and food to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon Airport helps Marines deliver toys to Havasupai

By Ryan Harding
ADOT Office of Public Information

A different sight greeted the staff at the Grand Canyon National Park Airport on Dec. 3 when instead of tourist helicopters, two U.S. Marine Corps CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters landed to engage in their annual mission to deliver toys and food to members of the Havasupai Tribe who live at the bottom of the canyon.

This event, known as Operation Supai, has been conducted every year by Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 764 (HMM-764) based out of Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The Grand Canyon airport, owned and operated by the Arizona Department of Transportation, provides support to this Marine squadron every year by providing jet fuel, a temporary base of operations and local ground transportation before and during the mission. In past years when snowy conditions threatened the success of the operation, ADOT staff would plow the landing pads and runway so the squadron could still deliver goods to the tribe.

“The support ADOT provides is invaluable,” said Major Charles Nunally, executive officer and helicopter pilot for the squadron. “Without the support of the airport, we wouldn’t be able to do this mission.”

HMM-764 partners with the local Marine Toys for Tots program based in Flagstaff and St. Mary’s Food Bank every year to bring 150 bags of toys to over 100 children and 100 boxes of food and turkeys to the small, remote tribe. Their CH-46 helicopters allow them to deliver the goods down into the Grand Canyon where the Havasupai live. The Grand Canyon airport serves as a staging area to load goods and personnel and refuel the helicopters.

“This is the biggest day of the year for the tribe,” said Rick Wiselus, a Toys for Tots volunteer and board member on the Marine Corps League Charities. “The smiles on the kids’ faces are heartwarming. The airport is wonderful to us every year. They pull together to help us.”

Operation Supai began in 1995 when the Northern Arizona Marine Corps League requested a squadron to deliver goods to the Havasupai. HMM-764 was selected for the mission, and they have delivered goods every year for 17 years to the tribe which consists of around 300 people.

The Havasupai Reservation is remotely located near the southwest corner of the Grand Canyon National Park outside of the main park area. They are largely dependent on tourism as their primary source of revenue. This annual Marine operation is something the Havasupai have come to depend on every year.

Whether someone is new to riding or has years of experience, ADOT encourages all riders to take a certified safety training course.

By attending an approved rider training course, motorcyclists of all skill levels not only have the chance to obtain professional instruction to become safer riders, they are also able to acquire their motorcycle endorsement easily and conveniently.

As you can see in the video above, there are other advantages that include potential insurance discounts and scholarship opportunities.

More information from the Motorcycle Training Foundation can be found online. You’ll also find the Motorcycle Operator Manual, along with a list of authorized motorcycle training providers on ADOT’s website. If you want to read more about motorcycle safety, check out some of our previous posts.

If you watch this update from a year ago and compare it to today’s video, you’ll get a sense of just how much the Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) widening project has progressed in the past 12 months…

Currently, work is more than 50 percent complete. Crews are adding one travel lane in each direction to the Loop 101 between Shea Boulevard and McKellips Road. The project also includes the addition of merge lanes between most major traffic interchanges, ramp improvements, new rubberized asphalt and the addition of two travel lanes from the northbound Loop 101/Loop 202 interchange entrance ramp to McDowell Road.

Just like last year, we want to remind drivers that there will be no full closures on this project during the upcoming busy holiday season. Drivers can again rest assured that crews will avoid construction-related closures during some of the big events planned in the area through early 2016.

“You’ll see a little bit of construction through the winter months, but that’s really when we’re going to slow down to make it so we don’t impact the traveling public,” says Senior Resident Engineer Dan Haskins in the video above. “Next April, we’re going to make our next big push to try to get a lot of this project done and completed. We want the people in Scottsdale, when they’re driving it, to be proud of what we’ve provided back to them. They have definitely been patient through this project and we want to make sure we’re giving them the best product we possibly can.”

Drivers are urged to slow down in the work zone and obey the lowered speed limit.

Find additional details in our previous posts or check out the project’s progress on our Flickr Page.

Do you Know Snow?

If the answer to that one is no, you’ll learn a lot by watching today’s video featuring winter-driving stats. Even if you’re a snow expert who has years of experience driving in the stuff, you still might discover something new about ADOT’s winter operations…

For instance, did you know ADOT has 200 snowplows in its fleet? How about the fact that new snowplow drivers must complete 60 hours of training?

OK … enough spoilers! We’ll let you watch the video to get all the details. After you’re done, check out ADOT’s Know Snow page for even more information on winter driving, along with safety recommendations and tips to help you prepare for driving in wintry conditions. You can also revisit all our Know Snow blog posts from previous years.

Cycling your way across the state got a little easier last month when Arizona received approval for its first U.S. bicycle route…

The best part is that you don’t even have to wait to use it!

U.S. Bicycle Route 90, a continuous corridor through the state that connects with New Mexico and California, doesn’t involve building any new infrastructure. The route directs riders along a 573-mile-long east-west path that runs along existing state highways, local streets and shared-use paths.

ADOT’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Coordinator Michael Sanders explains in the video above that there are more than 11,000 miles of designated U.S. Bicycle Route in 23 states.

“It’s very exciting for us here at ADOT to have a U.S. bicycle route now designated,” he says. “Many people know us for our highways and Motor Vehicle Division, but now that we’re on the map, I think people recognize that Arizona is multimodal and that we are working to accommodate bicyclists on our roadways and streets.”

The route will take cyclists through many Arizona communities, including Douglas, Bisbee, Tombstone, Tucson and Wickenburg.

“All the road maps in existence for the last hundred years have been for driving a car from one place to another,” says cyclist John Wettack in the video. “This is a road map for being able to ride a bicycle from one place to another.”

Adventure Cycling Association has developed detailed maps and other information about Arizona’s route and the rest of the route system to support bicyclists as they ride across Arizona and the rest of the states. You can find a map of the U.S. Bicycle Route System on the group’s site.

Get more information on ADOT’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program on our website.