Category Archives: Arizona Department of Transportation

Arizona launches Traffic Incident Management website for responders

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PHOENIX – A new website will help make traffic incident response more efficient and vehicle travel safer for motorists in Arizona.

Created by the Arizona Department of Transportation and Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Arizona Traffic Incident Management website – tim.az.gov – debuts this week with the goal of being the go-to resource for Arizona TIM responder training.
TIM freeway

“Effective Traffic Incident Management keeps the public safe, emergency responders safe and traffic moving,” said Derek Arnson, ADOT’s Traffic Management Group manager. “It’s important that everyone who responds to a traffic incident, from law enforcement to tow truck operators, are working together and following the same practices.”

Traffic Incident Management (TIM) is the coordinated practices, responsibilities and cooperation of emergency responders, which includes law enforcement, fire departments, medical services, transportation crews and tow truck operators, at traffic incidents. These coordinated efforts help keep crash victims and emergency responders safe, while restoring traffic flow.

A primary focus in building the website was to create a central location for all of Arizona’s incident responders to sign up for and receive TIM training.

While the website is geared toward emergency responders, tips for the public can be found there, too, including videos and infographics related to Arizona’s “Move Over” law, “Quick Clearance” and work-zone safety.

A plank road was once the way between Yuma and San Diego

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Arizonans think nothing of a quick weekend drive from Phoenix to San Diego’s beaches in about six hours. But a century ago, that trip could take the better part of two days across primitive roads and nearly impassable sand dunes.

Horses were more reliable for traversing sand dunes until enterprising road builders came up with a boardwalk for motorcars in 1915.

That’s right. Early adopters of horseless-carriage technology built a road of wooden planks across seven miles of sand west of Yuma in California. Arizona notably did not follow California down the path of building wooden roads.

The Plank Road and the Colorado River bridge at Yuma, completed in April 1915, were key steps forward for motorists traveling across the Southwest deserts in the early 20th century. Those advancements also were factors in competition between San Diego and Los Angeles to be the western terminus for a cross-country highway along a southern route.

The Colorado River State Historic Park in Yuma has a Plank Road display with a Model T automobile. There’s also a preserved section of the Plank Road at the Bureau of Land Management’s Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area south of Interstate 8 on the Gray’s Well Road about 12 miles west of Yuma. That’s where this Bureau of Land Management photo was taken.

Plank Road skeptics like civil engineer Joseph Lippincott, an Auto Club of Southern California consultant, pegged the wooden highway as “the most asinine thing he had ever heard of,” according to a San Diego Tribune report at the time.

But the road, despite its flaws, carried traffic for more than a decade until it was replaced in 1926 by an asphalt road that became US 80 and more recently Interstate 8.

One Yuma merchant praised the Plank Road. “It is no ride across the Sahara Desert, but rather a pleasure trip anyone can enjoy,” the man said, according to B. Johnny Rube in his 1996 book A Wooden Road Through the Hollow of God’s Hand.

Initially, the Plank Road was boards laid in parallel tracks to provide a path for adventurous drivers. In 1915, the California Highway Commission took over the Plank Road, installing 12-foot by 8-foot wooden sections on the dunes west of Yuma.

The knock on the one-lane Plank Road was that it forced drivers traveling in opposite directions to use pullouts every 1,000 feet to pass each other. Maintenance was a constant problem as horse-drawn scrapers were used to clear the sand, which damaged the planks and made for a rough ride. Sand drifted across the planks and drivers would “lose” the road and end up stuck in the sand. That created commerce for the Fort Yuma Quechan Indians whose horses served as the tow trucks of the era, pulling cars out of the sand and back onto the Plank Road, said Tina Clark, historian of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.

The Plank Road was an extension of previous methods early motorists used to get through sand dunes and other difficult terrain.

In 1910, the National Highway Association employed a pathfinder named A.L. Westgard to explore cross-country routes from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles. He’s been described as the “Marco Polo of the Motor Age.”

While scouting a route called the Trail to Sunset , Westgard used rolls of canvas on the sand to get across the Yuma dunes. He later carried wooden planks on his vehicle to get across sand or mud flats, according Arizona Highways, published by the Arizona Department of Transportation.

ADOT and its plows are prepared for winter weather. Are you?

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PHOENIX – With winter on the horizon, the Arizona Department of Transportation has spent months preparing for snow and ice that storms will dump on the state’s higher elevations.

ADOT has 375 certified snowplow operators ready to operate the agency’s nearly 200 snowplows, which are stationed around the state to keep people and commerce moving when snow falls on highways.

Now it’s time for drivers to do their part, starting with following essential safety tips available at azdot.gov/KnowSnow to prepare themselves and their vehicles for winter travel. That includes slowing down, leaving extra room behind the next vehicle, taking along warm clothing, blankets, food and water, and packing an emergency kit.

Your preparations should include staying apprised of weather conditions and being ready to postpone travel so ADOT’s snowplows can clear roadways. A highway takes much longer to plow when it’s jammed with vehicles that had no business traveling on a roadway that’s slick with snow and ice. That happened last Christmas Eve, when a powerful storm dropped inches of snow per hour, closing a long stretch of Interstate 40 in a tangle of crashes and stranded vehicles that took many hours to clear.

A snowplow can’t clear a highway if it’s pulled out of service when another vehicle hits it. That happened several times last winter, fortunately without significant injures. Every vehicle, from semis to passenger cars, needs to give snowplows room to work – a minimum of four vehicle lengths to allow room to stop.

Avoid passing a snowplow that’s clearing a highway until the driver pulls over to let traffic pass. Never assume a snowplow operator knows your vehicle is nearby. If you can’t see the plow driver, there’s a good chance the driver can’t see you.

Always remember: The safest place on a highway when it’s snowing is behind a snowplow.

Heading to sled and throw snowballs? Do that in designated areas away from highways, not parked on shoulders, which are for emergencies only. Parking on a highway shoulder to play in the snow distracts other drivers and can interfere with first responders who may need to use the shoulder. If that isn’t reason enough, keep in mind that a snowplow can hurl large amounts of snow and ice well away from a highway.

ADOT recently installed signs along a stretch of US 180 northwest of Flagstaff reminding drivers that parking on the shoulder is for emergencies only.

Those heading to popular snow-play areas should be prepared to spend extended time in winter conditions, as traffic at day’s end is often heavy on highways including US 180 toward Flagstaff. In addition, highways can have extended closures from crashes and weather conditions.

Prepare for trips by visiting the ADOT Know Snow website (azdot.gov/KnowSnow), which has tips on making sure your vehicle is ready for winter driving, driving safely on highways with snow and ice, driving safely while snowplows work and packing supplies in case a vehicle becomes stranded. For example, a little cat litter or sand will provide traction if a vehicle becomes stuck along the roadway.

Before heading out, drivers can call 511 or visit ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov for the latest highway conditions. The website features real-time images along state highways that give drivers a glimpse of weather in various regions. ADOT’s Twitter account (@ArizonaDOT) and Facebook page (facebook.com/AZDOT) are sources of real-time information and interaction.

When a freeway closure or other major traffic event occurs, ADOT’s free app available at ADOTAlerts.com will send critical information directly to app users in affected areas – where possible, in advance of alternate routes.

ADOT seeks input on I-15 Virgin River Bridge No. 1 rehabilitation project

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Virgin River Bridge #6 – ADOT Photo

PPHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is seeking input from community members on a bridge rehabilitation project along Interstate 15 in the Virgin River Gorge with a public hearing on November 29 in Littlefield.

Those attending the hearing, to be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Beaver Dam Lodge, 452 Old Highway 91 North, can review and comment on the draft environmental assessment for the bridge project. A formal presentation is scheduled from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

The hearing will present three issues identified with Bridge No. 1 along I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge as well as a preferred design solution to replace the bridge and widen the roadway shoulders.

The draft environmental assessment, which is available for review through Dec. 14, can be reviewed online at www.azdot.gov/i15ea and at the following locations during business hours:

Mesquite Library, 121 W. First North Street, Mesquite, Nevada
Washington County Library-St. George Branch, 88 W. 100 South Street, Street George, Utah
Beaver Dam Lodge, 452 Old Highway 91 North, Littlefield, Arizona

Outside of the public hearing, community members can provide comments on the draft environmental assessment through the following ways:

  1. In writing: I-15, Bridge 1, 101 N. First Avenue, Suite 2600, Phoenix, AZ 85003
  2. Online: www.azdot.gov/VRB1Comments
  3. Email: projects @adot.gov
  4. Phone: 855.712.8530

No state highway construction closures over Thanksgiving weekend

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PHOENIX – Over Thanksgiving weekend, state and local agencies will focus on keeping motorists safe and placing equipment and resources along heavily traveled highways to help move traffic should incidents occur.

Motorists will play key roles in keeping traffic moving, too, by making smart driving decisions that won’t result in serious crashes that ruin road trips and create travel delays. Drivers are urged to use caution over the holiday weekend in existing work zones and in three “holiday travel corridors” that will receive extra enforcement and resources to minimize travel delays.

The Arizona Department of Transportation and its contractors won’t schedule construction closures along state highways from Friday through late Monday evening. Road restrictions for ongoing projects will remain in place.

In an effort to reduce crashes and delays that result from speeding and driver inattention, speed limits will be lowered during peak holiday travel periods on a winding stretch of Interstate 17 north of Phoenix. ADOT will reduce speed limits by 10 mph on I-17 between New River and Sunset Point Rest Area. Temporary signs will advise drivers of the lower speed limits. For example, areas where the speed limit is ordinarily 65 mph will have a speed limit of 55 mph.

ADOT is emphasizing safety in three high-traffic holiday travel corridors: Interstate 17 between north Phoenix and Flagstaff, Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson and State Route 87 between Mesa and Payson. Along those routes, ADOT crews will strategically stage equipment, such as loaders and utility trucks, minimizing travel delays with faster response times to crashes and stalled vehicles.

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is working with state troopers, deputy sheriffs and local police officers on a holiday DUI enforcement campaign across Arizona that will patrol state highways, county roads and city streets. The holiday season DUI Task Force Campaign involves 10 separate statewide task forces and 84 different law enforcement agencies and will run through the New Year’s holiday.

Last year, 10 people died in 10 fatal traffic collisions during the holiday weekend on Arizona’s state and local roadways. Impairment was a factor in five of the fatal crashes. To encourage smart driving decisions, overhead signs will display safety messages, as well as current traffic conditions

ADOT has not scheduled any closures or work during the holiday weekend, but travelers should be aware that restrictions in existing work-zones will remain in place. This can include I-10 in Phoenix’s West Valley, I-40 near Kingman and northbound State Route 87 south of Payson. State routes 366 and 473 have closed for the winter season.

Because unexpected delays can occur due to crashes and stalled vehicles, motorists traveling during the holiday weekend should:

· Pack extra drinking water and snacks
· Avoid the busiest travel times, if possible
· Get plenty of rest before driving
· Check vehicles, including tire pressure, belts and fluid levels
· If traveling to the high country, pack cold-weather clothes and blankets

Real-time highway conditions are available on ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov, by calling 511 and through ADOT’s Twitter feed, @ArizonaDOT. When a freeway closure or other major traffic event occurs, our free app available at ADOTAlerts.com will send critical information directly to app users in affected areas – where possible, in advance of alternate routes.

ADOT publishes Tentative Long-Range Transportation Plan

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After two years of research and analysis, the public now has the opportunity to comment on the Arizona Department of Transportation’s draft long-range plan, outlining strategies for meeting the state’s highway and bridge needs over the next 25 years.

ADOT’s Tentative Long-Range Transportation Plan, which is required to be updated every five years, is available for comment through Dec. 21 and can be reviewed at azdot.gov/WhatMovesYouArizona. The CiviComment online tool, which is also available on the project website, allows users to comment on the full report or comment on individual pages pulled from the document. The direct link to CiviComment is provided here: whatmovesyouarizona.civicomment.org.

ADOT has spent the past two years drafting this update to the Long-Range Transportation Plan, which looks through 2040. The project team conducted stakeholder outreach, gathered extensive public comment across the state and worked through months of technical analysis.

During the 25-year period of this draft plan, about $923 million in annual highway capital funding will be available from state and federal sources. On average, the Phoenix and Tucson regions are expected to receive $512 million annually. Of that, $223 million comes from voter-approved regional programs in those two metropolitan areas dedicated largely to highway expansion. ADOT’s Recommended Investment Choice calls for all of the remaining annual average of $411 million to go toward preserving and modernizing highways in Greater Arizona.

The recommendation outlined in the Tentative Long-Range Transportation Plan is in line with public and stakeholder outreach, in which most participants listed preservation, safety and modernization projects as their highest priorities for Greater Arizona.

The State Transportation Board approved the Tentative 2040 Long-Range Transportation Plan on Oct. 20, allowing it to move forward for public review and comment. The Long-Range Transportation Plan is expected to be finalized in early 2018.

Comments can also be sent to:

  1. ADOT Project Information Line: 1.855.712.8530
  2. Mail:
    Long-Range Transportation Plan
    c/o ADOT Communications
    1655 W. Jackson St., Mail Drop 126F
    Phoenix, AZ 85007

State Route 473 to Hawley Lake closing for the winter

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PHOENIX ‒ State Route 473 leading to Hawley Lake in the White Mountains will close for the winter on Thursday, November 16, at its junction with State Route 260, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The 10-mile-long highway east of Pinetop-Lakeside will remain closed until at least April 15.

Other high-country state highways that will close over the next six weeks include SR 67 leading to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. That route, traveling 43 miles south from US 89A, will close Friday, December 1, unless a major snowstorm occurs before then.

With park facilities closed for the winter, ADOT doesn’t plow SR 67, which will be blocked about a half mile south of US 89A at Jacob Lake. It’s scheduled to reopen in mid-May along with North Rim lodges, campgrounds and other amenities.

State Route 64 remains open all year to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim.

Other winter closures include State Route 273 past Sunrise Park and State Route 261 west of Eagar, which are scheduled for Thursday, December 28, unless a severe storm happens sooner.

In southeastern Arizona, the upper, unpaved portion of SR 366 that leads to Mount Graham near Safford has already closed for winter. Motorized vehicles aren’t allowed on SR 366 past a locked gate a half mile past the Coronado National Forest’s Shannon Campground, but hikers, mountain bikers and cross-country skiers can still use the area.

State routes 366, 273 and 262 will reopen in the spring.

Tips on winter driving are available at azdot.gov/KnowSnow.

Arizona recognizes Traffic Incident Management Awareness Week

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PHOENIX – From minor incidents on high-volume freeways to serious collisions on lightly-traveled rural roads and everything in between, Traffic Incident Management keeps the traveling public moving and safe after incidents occur.

This week, the Arizona Department of Transportation and Arizona Department of Public Safety join other states and municipalities across the country in recognizing Traffic Incident Management Awareness Week.

Nearly 350 vehicle crashes occur every day in Arizona and most will be visited by emergency responders, which can include law enforcement, fire departments, medical services, transportation crews and tow trucks. Different responders have different duties on scene – some tend to victims and others gather information about the incident, while others removed damaged vehicles and clear space to make travel safer for other motorists – but all are practicing Traffic Incident Management (TIM).

“Safety is our top priority and when there’s an incident we’re looking out for three groups of people,” said Derek Arnson, ADOT’s Traffic Management Group manager. “The people involved in the crash, the emergency responders and the traveling public. TIM practices and strategies help us keep those people safe and traffic moving.”

The traveling public can contribute to that safety – for themselves and others – in two simple ways: “Quick Clearance” and “Move Over.”

“Quick Clearance” is a state law that requires a driver involved in a minor crash without injuries to remove their vehicle from the roadway if it is operable and can be moved safely. No one wants to be in this situation, but with a vehicle crash occurring about every four minutes in Arizona, everyone should know how best to stay safe following a minor, non-injury collision.

“First responders throughout Arizona use TIM strategies to improve citizen and responder safety, reduce secondary collisions and reduce traffic congestion,” said Major Deston Coleman of the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Highway Patrol Division. “Traffic Incident Management includes training, equipment, technologies and best practices that improve efficiency and effectiveness during large- and small-scale incidents that affect Arizona roadways. The teamwork of law enforcement, fire, EMS, towing, transportation and public safety agencies shows Arizona’s leadership and commitment to safety while improving quality of life. Citizens can carry out their daily activities, goods and freight supporting Arizona’s economy get to their destinations, and people go home safely. It’s a win for everyone.”

Arizona’s “Move Over” law requires motorists to move over one lane – or slow down if it’s not safe to change lanes – when approaching any vehicle with flashing lights pulled to the side of a road or highway.

Remember, if you are involved in a crash, the first action to take is to make sure you and occupants in your vehicle are OK. Then, if your vehicle is operable, move to the emergency shoulder, median or exit the highway and call 911. Stay out of travel lanes, be alert and watch approaching traffic. Never leave the scene of a crash.

Arizona Highways takes home 10 top prizes in prestigious awards

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PHOENIX ‒ Arizona Highways has won 10 top prizes, including Magazine Writer of the Year and Photographer of the Year, from the International Regional Magazine Association.

At the association’s recent meeting in Banff, Canada, the Arizona Department of Transportation-produced magazine took home 22 awards in all, the most in the competition, and was a finalist for Magazine of the Year for work published in 2016.

“State highways are key commerce corridors not only because of commercial travel but because so many are drawn to the beauty of Arizona’s open spaces,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “Arizona Highways has been an ambassador to people around the world for almost 100 years, and it continues to excel.”

Frequent Arizona Highways contributor Matt Jaffe won Magazine Writer of the Year for pieces about the history of thick-billed parrots in Arizona, the David and Gladys Wright House in Phoenix, trading posts still operating on tribal lands and historic fire lookouts.

Adam Schallau, who specializes in photos of the Grand Canyon, won Photographer of the Year for several of his appearances in Arizona Highways.

Other 2014 gold winners in writing were:

Public Issues: Terry Greene Sterling, “Cutting It Down to Size”
Historic Feature: Matt Jaffe, “Quite Wright”
Essay: Craig Childs, “The Sound of Fallen Trees”
General Feature: Annette McGivney, “Across the Great Divide”
Department: Staff and contributors, “The Journal”
Photo Series: Multiple photographers, “This Land is Your Land”
Portrait Photo: David Zickl, “Out of the Ordinary”
Portrait Series: David Zickl, “Getting Your Face Wet”

The International Regional Magazine Association was founded in 1960 to support and promote regional magazines in the United States and elsewhere.

Founded in 1925, Arizona Highways is dedicated to promoting travel to and through the state of Arizona. In addition to the world-renowned magazine known for spectacular landscape photography, Arizona Highways publishes travel guide books, calendars and other products to promote travel in Arizona. The magazine has subscribers in all 50 states and more than 110 countries.

Learn more at ArizonaHighways.com.

Arizona DOT launches ‘ADOT Alerts’ free travel app

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PHOENIX – Available now for your mobile device: A free app from the Arizona Department of Transportation that will help you avoid unplanned and lengthy travel delays, and other serious highway hazards.

ADOT Alerts will help keep drivers moving on Arizona’s highways and away from potentially dangerous situations by providing information to drivers before they are trapped on a highway closed because of a crash or severe weather. Using geofencing technology, ADOT will send alerts to mobile devices with the app in affected areas and in advance of roadway decision points, giving the public plenty of time to choose an alternate route or delay their travel plans and avoid sitting in lengthy backups.

“We’re excited about ADOT Alerts because the app will help us quickly get critical information directly to motorists,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “With that information, travelers can make a decision to take a different route or stop somewhere for a bite to eat or stay where they’re at, and avoid sitting in a long backup because of an unplanned event, like a serious crash that closes a highway. We can also alert motorists to public safety issues, like wrong-way vehicles or severe weather affecting state highways.”

ADOT Alerts goes beyond providing daily commuting reports and travel times – ADOT already provides that kind of real-time information to drivers via overhead message boards and social media, not to mention the numerous traffic and navigation apps that also offer that kind of information. By using geofencing, ADOT can send alerts only to mobile devices with the app in an impacted area. That means affected motorists can make a decision to re-route or delay their travel plans long before encountering a traffic backup.

All alerts are sent by a public information officer at ADOT’s Traffic Operations Center to ensure they are accurate, critical in nature and appropriately targeted to a geographic area.

To get the most out of ADOT Alerts, enable Location Services and Push Notifications so you can be immediately notified of the most relevant alerts in your area. That way, whenever ADOT sends an alert to an area your mobile device is in, it will pop up on your device’s screen with a distinctive alert sound.

Users do not have to sign up, register or create a log-in to use the app. You remain 100 percent anonymous.

The app can be downloaded free of charge in Apple’s App Store and Google Play. Search for “ADOT Alerts” in the respective app store.

“The introduction of the ADOT Alerts app is one more way ADOT is working to promote highway safety and reduce frustrations for drivers,” Halikowski said. “We want drivers to be informed about issues, knowledgeable about options, and up-to-date on hazards. We hope this app – along with AZ511 and our social media outreach – will prove to be a major advancement in our efforts to connect with drivers.”

More information about the app can be found at ADOTAlerts.com.