Category Archives: Arizona Department of Transportation

Arizona highways honor veterans all year long

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img_2463As you prepare to mark Veterans Day and then the Dec. 7 anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, look to signs along our highways for tributes to our veterans.

ADOT’s employees join all Americans in their deep gratitude to veterans and their families, and we hope you’ll be inspired by highway designations including these:

Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway (I-10)
Interstate 10 is referred to outside of the Valley as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway. A group of veterans requested the designation from the Arizona State Legislature in 1995.

The highway designation was formalized by House Joint Resolution 2003, and the first signs bearing the name went up later that year.

Buffalo Soldier Trail (SR 90)
State Route 90 from I-10 to Fort Huachuca is known as Buffalo Soldier Trail, a designation created in 1994 by House Joint Resolution 2001.

Lawmakers wanted to honor the black soldiers who traveled the route on horseback long before it was paved.

Buffalo Soldiers, officially known as the U.S. Army’s 10th Cavalry Regiment, fought in the so-called Indian Wars of the 19th century. In 1983, Bob Marley immortalized them in the song “Buffalo Soldier.”

Veterans Memorial Highway (I-15)
State lawmakers designated Interstate 15, which runs through the northwest corner of Arizona, as Veterans Memorial Highway in 1995.

Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Montana and California have also designated the interstate as Veterans Memorial Highway. As such, the highway spans about 1,430 miles from San Diego to Montana’s border with Canada.

Arizona Veterans Highway (I-17)
Arizona Veterans Highway is the name given to the 140 miles of Interstate 17 between Flagstaff and the Valley, thanks to a 2004 resolution by state lawmakers.

A 5-foot stone monument honoring veterans and the highway’s designation stands at the McGuireville Rest Area. It’s engraved with messages including, “Freedom isn’t free.”

Purple Heart Trail (I-40)
In 2003, lawmakers endorsed dedicating Interstate 40 as the Purple Heart Trail.

According to House Joint Resolution 2001, the Military Order of the Purple Heart provided funds for signage and wanted the designation “to promote patriotism, history and education among the people of this state.”

“The State of Arizona and the other states in the union, by likewise designating portions of their highways, can establish the Purple Heart Trail as a nationwide tribute to the millions of purple heart recipients who have courageously and selflessly defended this nation in times of war,” the resolution reads.

Bushmaster Memorial Highway (SR 64)
SR 64 stretching north from Williams to the Grand Canyon and then east to Cameron is known as the Bushmaster Memorial Highway in honor of the Arizona National Guard 158th Infantry Unit that fought in World War II.

It got the name in 1995, joining Veterans Memorial Highway (I-15) and Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway (I-10).

The Bushmasters unit “distinguished itself in three separate sectors on Luzon (Philippines) after a long and sanguinary march through New Guinea and its neighboring jungle islands,” according to resolution.

Blue Star Memorial Highway (I-8, I-19, US 89, SR 80)
The National Council of State Garden Clubs began erecting placards honoring veterans on highways across the nation in 1945.

Arizona has four of them.

“The Blue Star became an icon in World War II and was seen on flags and banners in homes for sons and daughters away at war, and in churches and businesses,” according to the National Garden Clubs website.

There are placards on I-19 three miles north of Nogales, US 89 near the Utah state line, US 89 at Hell Canyon Bridge and US 80 near the I-10 junction.

Piestewa Freeway (SR 51)
Perhaps the best-known freeway honoring an Arizonan who served in the armed services is the Piestewa Freeway (State Route 51) in Phoenix, which is named for Army Specialist Lori Piestewa, who was killed in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The freeway runs past Piestewa Peak, also named in her honor.

Piestewa, a member of the Hopi Tribe, was the first female Native American member of the U.S. armed services to die in combat.

Removing mystery from commercial vehicle inspections at international ports

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DOUGLAS — Before trucks hauling Mexican products into the United States can leave the port of entry at the border, officers from the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Enforcement and Compliance Division make sure those commercial vehicles are safe to travel on Arizona roads. Inspectors check drivers’ credentials and look for obvious safety issues. Some of the trucks are weighed and undergo 37-point safety inspections. Before that, agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration conduct their own inspections.

The faster those trucks are processed, the faster they can get on their way and boost Arizona’s economy with goods ranging from decorative rock to mini-blinds. And the better trucking companies and their drivers understand the various port of entry processes, the sooner their trucks can head north on US 191 or State Route 80.

That’s why ADOT, its federal partners and the Arizona Department of Public Safety will hold an educational event next week in Douglas. The goal: helping trucking companies understand what each agency’s inspectors are looking for and what the companies can do to avoid unnecessary delays.

Trade with Mexico is vital to Arizona. In 2015, $30 billion in both imports and exports moved through the state’s border ports, supporting 100,000 Arizona jobs.

“Events like this one in Douglas will help ensure that we continue to operate efficiently, effectively and safely at all of our border ports of entry,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “We will continue working to improve how we work at the border and on our roadways to take full advantage of our trade opportunities with Mexico.”

The event will be 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the port of entry.

ADOT enforcement officers will explain state and federal safety guidelines and regulations. They also will demonstrate inspection procedures and answer questions from trucking representatives.

“We want them to understand the process from start to finish,” said Lt. Christina Parrish with ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division. “Everything we do is based on our agency’s mission: ‘To ensure the safe and efficient movement of people, goods and services throughout Arizona while promoting compliance with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations.’”

About 35,000 trucks come through the Douglas port every year, carrying about $4 billion in seat belts, medical garments, copper from Mexican mines and other goods. It’s Arizona’s second-busiest commercial border crossing behind the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales.

The event, like others held at Arizona’s international ports, is just one way ADOT works to continuously improve the movement of international trade.

ADOT inspectors already have taken steps to reduce wait times for commercial vehicles at all ports. For example, officers have been equipped with laptop computers to enter data during an inspection rather than writing information down by hand and then entering it on the computer later.

Officers will be checking carriers’ past safety ratings while looking for obvious safety problems. They will also try to reduce wait times with two-person inspections set to begin in January, with one officer inspecting the vehicle and the other entering results into the computer.

Experience makes the best inspectors, said Parrish, a Douglas native who has worked at the port for more than 15 years.

“Once you’ve been around trucks quite a bit you learn to recognize the things that could be wrong,” she said. “You know how they’re supposed to look and sound. It becomes easier to observe a flat tire or a load that’s not secured properly.”

Emergency drill will close northbound I-17 McGuireville Rest Area morning of Tuesday, Nov. 8

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PHOENIX – The northbound McGuireville Rest Area along Interstate 17 will be closed to travelers the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 8, to allow Copper Canyon Fire and Medical Authority to conduct a mass-casualty incident drill, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The northbound facility, located at milepost 297, will close at 8:30 a.m. for approximately an hour and a half. The southbound rest area will remain open.

Drivers headed toward the high country can use the Sunset Point Rest Area at milepost 262 or services in Camp Verde and other communities.

Plan for restrictions on SR 69 in Prescott Valley starting on Nov. 7

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PRESCOTT VALLEY — Drivers traveling on State Route 69 next week should allow extra travel time for striping work. Lane striping is scheduled daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7, through Wednesday, Nov. 9, from State Route 169 to Mendecino Drive in Prescott Valley. Alternating lane restrictions are expected during work hours.

Crews will restripe a six-mile segment of newly repaved roadway in preparation of the winter months. The final layer of rubberized asphalt will be completed when warmer temperatures return in the spring of 2017.

Drivers should proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down and watch for construction equipment and personnel.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but it’s possible that unscheduled closures or restrictions might occur because of weather or other factors. For the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at www.az511.gov or call 511, except while driving.

Saving steps is paying big dividends at ADOT’s vehicle-repair shops

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TUSCON — At the Tucson shop where the Arizona Department of Transportation repairs and maintains vehicles, technicians once rolled tires across the facility to reach a machine used for repairs.

Today, that machine is located next to the operation’s tire storage, along with the tools and supplies needed for the work. As a result, far fewer steps are required to repair tires.

Technicians once lost time searching various drawers for the right nuts, bolts, fittings and electronic connectors. Today, drawers are color-coded according to items, sizes and uses, better connecting technicians with what they need for a particular repair.

Rather than lugging containers of wiper fluid, technicians now create it by adding tablets with water to a vehicle’s wiper fluid holder. In addition to being a little less expensive, this approach frees space once required to store all of that wiper fluid.

“The littlest details make a big difference,” said Harry Edwards, the foreman.

As ADOT answers Governor Doug Ducey’s call for state agencies to continuously improve all aspects of their operations, employees at the Tucson Equipment Services shop are identifying ways to do their jobs more efficiently, down to how they organize their workstations.

“One of the things we’re challenged to do as employees is look for opportunities to improve upon what we did yesterday,” said Sonya Herrera, director of ADOT’s Administrative Services Division, which includes Equipment Services. “And I think the Tucson shop is a great example of how small changes, when added together, lead to a huge improvement.”

The payoff goes beyond more efficient repairs and maintenance for ADOT vehicles ranging from trucks to snowplows. Dozens of agencies contract with Equipment Services, including the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona Department of Public Safety, police departments and school districts.

Improvements to date include a tracking system for specialized diagnostic tools that technicians share.

“Rather than spending time looking for it or searching for it, they know exactly who has that tool and can touch base with them to find out when it will be available,” Herrera said.

Devin Darlek, ADOT Equipment Services administrator, notes that applying continuous improvement techniques costs nothing in most cases while producing savings in time and taxpayer money. It’s also spurring a healthy competition among all 23 ADOT Equipment Services shops to identify improvements.

“Process improvements are contagious,” Darlek said. “All employees are excited about this and are working to plug in their own ideas.”

All through the Tucson shop, employees are evaluating processes and procedures to cut down on the steps – and time – needed to perform work. Reducing steps increases the shop’s capacity for other work.

They noticed, for example, that a machine used to remove, repair and mount light tires was in great demand. But it was located in the north end of the shop, while new tires were stored at the south end. Fetching the right supplies and tools for tire repairs involved more trips.

The employees’ review found that mounting and balancing a tire required 277 steps.

Moving the machine in question to where tires are stored, and next to the right supplies and tools, reduced the number of steps required to mount and balance a tire to 28.

Employees saved more steps by taking a close look at each technician’s workspace, and then reorganizing – rebuilding workbenches in some cases – to focus on the tasks each person performs most often as well as ergonomics.

After employees assessed which items in the parts area were in highest demand, Kevin Potts, the facility’s equipment parts supervisor, moved those items closer to the entrance. Where it once took 10 steps to dispense one of the faster-moving parts, it now takes just three.

That improvement also has reduced inventory, which in turn reduces overhead costs, and made accounting for inventory much more efficient.

“Instead of having three months of inventory sitting on my shelf, I’ve got just two or three weeks of inventory sitting on my shelf because I have really good vendors 20 minutes away,” Potts said.

Technician Shane Blasdel said the many improvements to date at the Tucson shop offer benefits beyond saving steps.

“Shop’s a lot cleaner, a lot more efficient, a lot safer,” Blasdel said.

Because continuous improvement is, by definition, continuous, accomplishments to date are just a start.

“No idea’s too small,” said Edwards, the Tucson shop foreman.

You can now print duplicate temporary driver licenses or IDs at home

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PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division has added another transaction to the growing list of things drivers can do at home to avoid lines at MVD offices.

Customers applying for a duplicate driver license or ID card can now print their temporary credentials at home using plain paper. MVD has eliminated the requirement that those credentials be printed on special blue-tinted stock used only at MVD locations.

“There was a misconception that the paper used by MVD to print temporary credentials added a level of security, but that wasn’t the case,” Motor Vehicle Division Director Eric Jorgensen said. “Making this change means people can do this from the comfort of their home on ServiceArizona.com and MVD staff have more time to serve people who need to visit an office. It’s one more way that MVD is getting customers out of line and safely on the road.”

A temporary credential, a receipt showing that the customer has applied for a duplicate driver license or ID, is used until the customer receives the permanent credential through the mail.

Processing duplicate or replacement credentials is the second most common transaction in MVD offices. Lowering the number of transactions that must be done in person helps the division reduce office waiting times and serve customers more efficiently.

The change doesn’t entirely eliminate the use of the blue-tinted MVD credential form, which will still be required for commercial driver license and permit applications. Customers obtaining their first driver license or ID or who need a photo update will also need to come to an MVD location.

A tale fit for Halloween: ADOT’s bat man to the rescue

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bats-th-spe_cropJust in time for Halloween, we have a not-so-scary tale of bats, a bridge project and an ADOT biologist.

It begins a day or so after Labor Day, just before crews are to start rebuilding the State Route 92 bridge over the San Pedro River between Sierra Vista and Bisbee, Arizona Department of Transportation crews make one last check under the bridge to be sure we’re good to go.

We were not. Two lesser long-nosed bats had made a temporary home under the bridge. The photo above shows them in their perch.

The bats are an endangered species, which means we had to stop most work to avoid disturbing them. Most of the time, these migratory bats head to Mexico and farther south well before Labor Day, but our friends decided to hang out a little longer in southern Arizona.

ADOT and the Federal Highway Administration, in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, decided it would be best to wait until cooler weather encouraged the bats to move on. Our best estimate for that to happen was mid-November.

Enter Josh Fife, a biologist with ADOT Environmental Planning who made several visits to the remote, 61-year-old bridge to check on the bats. The other day, he noticed that they appeared to have flown on. After three straight bat-free days, he gave the OK for work to resume.

In addition to protecting the bats, Fife’s checks saved a month of delays on the project, which is expected to be complete by early summer, and the costs associated with waiting.

As Bill Harmon, ADOT’s district engineer for southeast Arizona, put it, “Josh batted 1.000 on this one.”

Plan for US 180 restrictions north of Flagstaff during controlled burn Tuesday and Wednesday

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FLAGSTAFF — Traffic on US 180 will be restricted to one lane on Tuesday and Wednesday, near Kendrick Park, approximately 17 miles north of Flagstaff, as forest crews conduct a controlled burn in the area.

The scheduled burn will begin at 9:30 a.m. and is expected to last throughout the day and potentially through Wednesday if conditions allow.

Fire managers will be coordinating with ADOT, which will provide pilot vehicles to lead traffic through the restricted area and determine when to lift the restriction. ADOT will be on scene during ignitions and monitoring smoke impacts to the highway overnight, if necessary.

Drivers should allow for extra time for travel, slow down and proceed with caution with the potential reduced visibility conditions in the area.

Restrictions begin Oct. 31 on State Route 260 to accommodate roundabout construction near Interstate 17

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Travel restrictions and lane closures will begin Monday, Oct. 31, for both east- and westbound travel on State Route 260 as construction begins on the SR 260 roundabout at Industrial Drive in Camp Verde (milepost 218 to 219) just east of the Interstate 17 junction.

Lane and travel restrictions will be in place 24 hours a day and will be maintained until late February, 2017. A 10-foot-wide load restriction will also be in place during operations.

The completed roundabout will keep traffic flowing smoothly in all directions as well as in and out of businesses. At present, traffic on Industrial Drive can only make right turns onto SR 260, while those on SR 260 can wait in long left-turn bays to get to businesses or turn around.

‘Terrifying’ traffic can occur during afternoon commute on Halloween

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halloween_cropPHOENIX — Halloween brings out more than ghosts and goblins. When the spooky celebration falls on a weekday – this year it’s on Monday – many commuters adjust their routines, leaving work early to get home for trick-or-treating and parties. The result is often a wicked commute.

Given the potential for a cursed commute, the Arizona Department of Transportation recommends the following:

  • If possible, try to make an earlier start in the afternoon to avoid the scariest traffic. Freeway traffic builds between 4-6 p.m. in what has come to be known as the “witching hour.”
  • Be patient and recognize that it may take longer to get home. Take your time.
  • Don’t let down your guard when you’re nearing home. Remember: superheroes, princesses and too-old-to-be-trick-or-treating teenagers will be crossing streets in your neighborhood and might not be paying attention.

Beginning Saturday morning and lasting through Halloween, ADOT’s overhead message boards statewide will display this safety message:

MUMMY KNOWS BEST
WRAP YOURSELF
IN A SEAT BELT

Failure to wear a seat belt is one of the leading factors in traffic deaths on Arizona’s state highways, county roads and city streets. In 2015, 29 percent of the 895 people killed in vehicle crashes in Arizona weren’t wearing seat belts.