By John Halikowski / ADOT Director

With more than 35 percent of the South Mountain Freeway construction project complete, the state’s largest single highway project ever is on schedule to open by late 2019. I commend our ADOT staff and Connect 202 Partners for keeping this large construction project on schedule.

It is hard to imagine the amount of materials needed to build this project. To date, crews have installed 8 miles of drainage pipe, moved 3.6 million cubic yards of dirt and used 2,900 tons of rebar manufactured from recycled steel.

Motorists in the West Valley are witnessing the building of the 1-10 interchange at 59th Avenue along with ramps and two direct HOV lane connections. New access roads parallel to I-10 between 51st and 67th avenues are taking shape. Construction of the 40 bridges and one pedestrian bridge continues this year. Construction crews have painted one of the interchanges along the Pecos segment that uses design elements from Frank Lloyd Wright.

The South Mountain Freeway is a vital economic development project for the region. As I have said before, this freeway connects people with employment, entertainment and educational centers.

To stay up-to-date on construction and traffic alerts, please visit www.azdot.gov/SouthMountainFreeway.

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

EDITOR'S NOTE: During National Engineers Week, which calls attention to importance of engineering and career opportunities in engineering, blog posts are calling attention to different aspects of engineering at ADOT.

By Doug Nick / ADOT Communications

You may have seen the bumper sticker that says, “If you can read this, thank a teacher,” and we heartily agree. We’ll even take it a step further and say if you can (safely) read that bumper sticker while driving on a smooth stretch of state highway, thank an engineer.

Engineering is one of those professions that can be taken for granted. But we have lots of engineers at ADOT, and we know they deserve more than just a pat on the back for what they do. It takes a great deal of skill and knowledge to develop and maintain a safe, efficient and modern transportation infrastructure.

For example, imagine for a moment that you’re driving on State Route 87 from Mesa to Payson. If you’ve done this, you know that stretch covers about 4,000 feet in elevation and is challenged by numerous mountains, several rivers and creeks, countless washes, as well as canyons and hordes of bloodthirsty Minotaurs.

OK, that last one isn’t true. We think. But still, it’s an impressive engineering feat.

So we can agree that putting a highway through the mountains is a daunting task, Minotaurs or not, and the engineering needs to be precise.

Even a rather ordinary ribbon of highway, say, I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson, requires a lot of engineering skill. What may look to mere mortals like a flat roadway is really a series of connected pieces that have to drain rainwater, accommodate everything from wide-loads to motorcycles, and must endure the relentless Arizona heat, which we now seem to have 364 days a year. (Winter was Jan. 19 this year; hope you didn’t miss it.)

It’s not all about highways, either. Our engineers play a huge role in our programs for bicycle and pedestrian safety, transit, aviation and rail corridors and a whole lot more.

Yep, they do a lot, and they usually do it without getting much attention, so now is as good a time as any to say thanks.

Happy National Engineers Week, and thank you!

By Dustin Krugel / ADOT Communications

Nearly one year after major construction began on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, the state’s largest single project ever, signs of progress abound in the 22-mile corridor. You'll see some this progress (of Salt River bridge construction) in the slideshow above, and many more photos are available on our South Mountain Freeway Flickr page.

This progress is good news for Valley motorists, as the South Mountain Freeway is going to bring traffic relief when it opens by late 2019.

Throughout this year, crews have relocated utilities, started work on bridges, built sound walls and made significant progress on freeway-to-freeway ramps taking shape at Interstate 10 and 59th Avenue in the West Valley.

Through the end of November, more than 3.6 million cubic yards of dirt had been moved to build bridge and wall foundations, embankments and connecting ramps. Eight miles of drainage pipe was installed and 5.8 million pounds of reinforced steel planted. That's according to ADOT and Connect 202 Partners, the developer responsible for building the freeway.

Some of the highlights:

Pecos segment (32nd Lane to I-10 Maricopa/Loop 202 Santan Freeway)

• An interim Pecos Road supports local traffic while mainline freeway construction occurs just north of the roadway
• Overpasses at 40th Street and 17th Avenue are nearing completion

Salt River segment (Lower Buckeye Road to 51st Avenue)

• Construction has begun on interchanges at Elliot Road and Southern Avenue, which are closed temporarily for this work
• Two half-mile Salt River bridges, the longest on the project, are about halfway complete

I-10 segment (I-10 Papago to Lower Buckeye Road and improvements to I-10 between 43rd and 75th avenues)

• Work is more than one-third complete on a 1,500-foot flyover ramp that will carry northbound South Mountain Freeway traffic to westbound I-10
• Work is nearly halfway done on two access roads adjacent to I-10 that will improve traffic flow between 51st and 67th avenues

The South Mountain Freeway will provide a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley and a much-needed alternative to I-10 through downtown Phoenix. Approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985 and again in 2004 as part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan, the South Mountain Freeway will complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system in the Valley.

For more information on the project, visit SouthMountainFreeway.com.

By Mike Harris and John Dougherty / ADOT Communications

Capturing chuckwallas is no easy task. We saw that ourselves recently when we followed biologists searching cracks other hiding places to locate and move these large lizards from a segment where South Mountain Freeway construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2018.

As our news release notes, chuckwallas need a hand to relocate. Unlike most other animals, they hunker down rather than flee when facing danger.

Approximately 120 chuckwallas were captured and released several hundred feet away when biologists made several visits to the area over the summer.

The video above and photo slideshow below show the search, as well as how biologists weighed, measured and tagged chuckwallas before releasing them.

By Dustin Krugel / ADOT Communications

Building a freeway requires lots and lots of water for dust mitigation and compaction, but getting the water to a construction site can be challenging.

Since many freeway sites don't have access to water nearby, trucks are often used to import water from long distances. This can be time-consuming and adds more construction traffic on local streets.

A more effective method to deliver large quantities of water to a construction site is to create a pond, as ADOT has done on major projects including State Route 24 (Gateway Freeway) in Mesa and the Loop 303/I-10 interchange project in Goodyear.

Using ponds also has the environmental benefit of cutting on emissions from trucks having to haul water a long way.

For the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway project, Connect 202 Partners, the developer responsible for building the 22-mile freeway, has constructed four temporary ponds, each with its own pump, along the Pecos segment between 40th Street and 32nd Lane. The ponds, which have plastic liners, will be removed when construction is completed by late 2019.

At 100 feet long and 40 feet wide, each pond is slightly longer than an NBA basketball court, is about 9 feet below ground level and can hold nearly 2.7 million gallons of water. A 6-foot-tall fence provides security around each pond, and flotation devices are stationed at intervals.

A Salt River Project water source continually supplies water to the ponds. Then it's loaded into water trucks as needed to reduce blowing dust and wet the ground to easily move and compact the dirt during construction.

This continuous flow of water is particularly important, as it prevents mosquitoes. It's the same process used in artificial ponds at parks and in other settings. Construction ponds turn over their water daily.

Temporary construction ponds are also in use at other sites along the freeway corridor.

By John Dougherty and Mike Harris / ADOT Communications

There's lots to see and lots going on at I-10 and 59th Avenue in west Phoenix, where an interchange under construction will link with the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

Because we hope you've been concentrating on the road – and slowing down – through the construction zone, we're sharing these videos and images highlighting progress to date.

In the YouTube video at right, Kole Dea, ADOT's senior resident engineer overseeing the I-10 Papago segment of the South Mountain Freeway, explains the interchange work. We also offered a news release this week providing details. Last week, we shared how a support structure known as a straddle bent will be an important part of the interchange.

There's so more to explore, and that's why we're sharing the slideshow below and embedding the two videos. We hope you'll enjoy the sights and sounds from this important project.

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

With a nearly perfect weather day in Williams – beautiful blue skies, temperatures in the 70s, a gentle breeze blowing out of the west – you’re likely not the only one thinking of enjoying the beauty of northern Arizona.

Not us. We’re thinking about winter.

You remember winter. It’s the time when constant freezing and thawing creates potholes on Interstate 40, one of the West’s most-popular routes for cross-country truckers and fun-seeking travelers.

That’s why we’ve closed a five-mile section of eastbound I-40 west of Williams and have traffic in both directions sharing the westbound lanes, separated for safety by concrete barriers.

Starting this week, we’re rebuilding this stretch of I-40 starting with a new foundation. It’s a long-term fix for the damage winter wants to cause the roadway every year. The work will take us through much of the fall, so those restrictions on I-40 will be with us for a few months. We’re also putting a new surface on the Devil Dog Wash bridge deck.

Slow down, allow a little extra time and you should get through the area just fine. Keep an eye out for our crews.

Next spring we’ll do the same thing for the westbound lanes.

You’ll also want to allow a little extra time between Williams and Flagstaff while we repave 12 miles of roadway from milepost 179 to 191, just four miles west of Flagstaff. We’ll complete base paving before winter and come back in the spring to finish the job.

So go ahead and enjoy another beautiful August day in northern Arizona. Our crews will keep working so that when winter comes a better I-40 will be ready and waiting for you.

By Ryan Harding / ADOT Communications

After getting beat up by years of freezes, thaws and heavy weather, Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff is getting a much-needed upgrade in the form of two projects.

First, crews are grinding down several inches of damaged pavement between mileposts 179 and 191 in both directions and replacing it with fresh asphalt. They're about halfway through and hope to have both directions repaved between mileposts 179 and 185 in the next couple of weeks.

Bridge deck repairs at the Bellemont overpass are underway, with similar repairs starting at the Riordan bridge this week. Those heading westbound on I-40 will need to watch for a lane closure at milepost 191 for the next several weeks so crews can make necessary repairs.

Also halfway completed is the guardrail replacement portion of this project. Guardrail on the eastbound side of this stretch of I-40 is complete, and crews have started on the westbound side.

The goal is to have the majority of paving, the bridge repairs and guardrail replacement done before cooler weather strikes the northern region this fall. Crews will then return next spring when the weather warms up to add the final top layer of asphalt to the highway as well as rebuild the on- and off-ramps at the Bellemont interchange.

Starting on Monday, July 24, ADOT is starting more extensive pavement repair project along I-40 west of Williams. Crews will be rebuilding the highway from the ground up, including a new foundation, between mileposts 156 and 161.

We worked to push this much-needed project though the approval stages so it could begin this summer and address the beating this section of I-40 has taken over the years due to weather. This project will provide the best possible fix for that damage.

Drivers heading east on I-40 toward Williams and Flagstaff will cross the median on a temporary road and share lanes with westbound I-40 traffic through the project area, with one lane of travel in each direction. Be sure to slow down and budget for extra travel time.

By Ryan Harding / ADOT Communications

In less than four days last month, crews installed a 110-foot prefabricated bridge – Arizona's first ever – along Oatman Highway, about a mile north of Interstate 40 in Topock. As bridge projects goes, that's lightning fast. The video above gives you an idea of the speed.

ADOT administered this project for Mohave County, which received a $1 million Federal Highway Administration grant toward the $1.8 million total cost.

Assembling the elements in advance at another location not only saved $2.6 million on the project but greatly reduced the time required for construction. That greatly reduced how long Oatman Highway had to be closed.