PAGE – The Arizona Department of Transportation advises drivers around Page to expect delays in both directions on US 89 at Glen Canyon Bridge on Tuesday, January 9, between 1 and 1:30 p.m. This short closure is necessary for crews to repair roadway lighting fixtures on both sides of the road.
Drivers should proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down and watch for construction personnel and equipment.
PHOENIX — After a spectacularly strong monsoon dumped 1.5 inches of rain on northern Arizona’s Vermilion Cliffs in just 15 minutes, it was no surprise that mud and rocks had covered US 89A.
But when Arizona Department of Transportation crews arrived on that day in August 2015, what they saw stopped their bulldozers in their tracks: boulders the size of elephants – 15 feet in diameter – and mud in seven different slides that covered portions of 24 miles of the only road across a wide area north of the Grand Canyon.
In the first six hours, ADOT crews from Page, Flagstaff and Fredonia rescued motorists trapped between mud flows, and within about 20 hours they had one lane open across the area. But the rest of the job was too big for ADOT’s local crews to handle.
The solution: A process known as Job Order Contracting allowed ADOT to bring in The S.J. Anderson Company of Mesa to repair damaged sections of the road quickly and at the lowest possible cost. For that rapid and efficient response as well as its value to the public, the US 89A House Rock Flash Flood Project has been recognized as the 2015 Harry H. Mellon Award of Excellence Winner in Job Order Contracting.
Invented in 1982, Job Order Contracting is a competitively bid construction procurement process government agencies use to accomplish a large number of repair, alteration and straightforward construction projects based on a set of locally priced construction tasks and competitively awarded contracts. Since its invention, Job Order Contracting has developed into a popular solution for agencies to manage and expedite construction projects.
The award, presented annually since 2007 by Greenville, S.C.-based Gordian Group, a provider of construction cost data, software and services, recognizes facility owners, managers and contractors who perform essential repair, alteration and maintenance work using the Job Order Contracting system. ADOT’s entry was selected from thousands nationwide.
“This year’s Award of Excellence winner demonstrated the speed, versatility and efficiencies of Job Order Contracting, even in the face of a natural disaster,” said William Pollak, CEO of Gordian. “We congratulate Arizona DOT and The S.J. Anderson Company for the remarkable job they did serving road users in Arizona.”
Even with the challenges of a huge task in a remote location, the US 89A repairs were completed in just 53 days, with ADOT providing on-site inspection. The contractor mobilized within days of proposal acceptance, bringing crews and equipment from around the Southwest.
“This award recognizes a creative approach that allowed ADOT’s Northcentral District to respond quickly, efficiently and effectively to an unexpected challenge,” said Dallas Hammit, ADOT’s state engineer and deputy director for transportation. “Completing the repairs and cleanup of such a large event in less than two months was an outstanding achievement.”
The value of the Job Order Contracting process was clear when a second monsoon storm caused damage while the repairs were underway. Using standard costs approved by the Arizona Department of Administration, ADOT was able to approve the added work without delay and incorporate it into the project.
Gordian presented the award Thursday, Aug. 4, at the ADOT administration building in Phoenix.
The Arizona Department of Transportation continues with repairs on US 89A at milepost 551, just west of Marble Canyon, which began Friday with a one-lane restriction in place. A temporary traffic signal will accommodate for alternating travel through the restriction and will be in place continuously until the work is completed by late fall, 2015.
The repair addresses roadway damage caused by the House Rock Flood which occurred last August following an intense weather event in the area.
PAGE — An overnight closure of US 89 at Haul Road will be required from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. on Tuesday (Sept. 8) and Wednesday (Sept. 9) to allow for paving at the roundabout.
During the overnight closure, travel along US 89 will be detoured using Coppermine Road and Lake Powell Boulevard. Flaggers and signs will direct drivers through the detour. ADOT advises drivers to proceed through the detour with caution and observe reduced speeds during travel.
The new roundabout intersection is anticipated to be completed in early fall.
US 89 will be narrowed to one lane south of the SR 64 Junction to Sunset Crater Rd (milepost 462 to 443) on Monday (Aug. 3) and Tuesday (Aug. 4) from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The pavement marker installation work will be a moving operation, utilizing a three-mile restriction. The restriction is required to allow Arizona Department of Transportation crews to install pavement markers on the roadway.
During installation, delays of up to 15 minutes can be anticipated. A pilot car will allow for alternating travel through the work zone. Please allow for extra travel time during construction and be alert while traveling through the work zone.
PHOENIX — At approximately 4:15 p.m. on March 27, US 89 south of Page was reopened to traffic for the first time following a Feb. 20, 2013, landslide that caused catastrophic damage to the roadway, requiring a 23-mile closure between the junction of State Route 98 in Page and US 89A near Bitter Springs.
In order to reopen the US 89 roadway today, the Arizona Department of Transportation completed an extensive $25 million repair, which included removing approximately one million cubic yards of rock material to realign a 1,500-foot section of roadway and construct a downslope rock buttress at the base of the Echo Cliffs to stabilize the area.
School buses from the Page Unified School District were the first vehicles to pass through the newly rebuilt roadway.
For more than two years, community members – including school children – of Bitter Springs, Marble Canyon and Cedar Ridge have used alternate routes, including the Temporary US 89 route that was opened in August 2013, to and from the Page and Lake Powell areas following the US 89 landslide.
“This is great news for those living and working in the area,” said city of Page Mayor Bill Diak. “It will shorten the commute of our school children that live below the closure by some 94 miles a day. For many of the river-related businesses, this means that their days just became more profitable. For the city of Page this means we will get our main access back. Life is good in Page and now even easier to get to. Come and enjoy!”
US 89T, which had served as the primary detour route to connect to the Page and Lake Powell areas following a $35 million project to upgrade Navajo Route 20, is expected to be relinquished to the Navajo Nation on April 17 when the State Transportation Board convenes in Phoenix. The 44-mile route was mostly a dirt road before being paved during a three-month-long project in summer 2013.
Prior to starting the US 89 landslide repair in summer 2014, ADOT had to clear several significant hurdles to keep the project moving forward. After an extensive geotechnical assessment identified the necessary repairs in July 2013, ADOT retained an engineering firm through an innovative construction delivery method (Construction Manager at Risk), which allowed the contractor to work directly with the design team and develop plans for the eventual repair. ADOT and the team also finalized all federally required environmental reviews that included cultural, biological and water quality measures, and completed plans for the required right-of-way easements with the Navajo Nation.
“The damage to the roadway looked like a scene out of a Hollywood movie and unfortunately a quick fix was not possible,” said ADOT Intermodal Transportation Division Director Steve Boschen. “From day one, we were committed to restoring mobility to the area as soon as possible with the paving of N20 (US 89T), but the real fix is now here with today’s opening.
“Reopening US 89 was the last step and with the commitment from our valued partners, including the Navajo Nation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Division of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, and our contractors FNF Construction and Kleinfelder, we were able to expedite the US 89 repairs and reopen as soon as possible despite many challenges along the way.”
The US 89 landslide repair project is eligible for reimbursement through the Federal Highway Administration’s emergency relief program, which provides funding to state and local agencies for the repair or reconstruction of highways, roads and bridges that are damaged in natural disasters and catastrophic failures.
Contractor that completed US 89T will work on landslide repair
PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Transportation cleared another hurdle this week in its effort to get the US 89 landslide repair started. ADOT has finalized an agreement with a contractor for preconstruction engineering services, which includes assistance with the final design and construction logistics for the ultimate fix.
Tempe-based FNF Construction, Inc. was selected by ADOT as the contractor for pre-construction services on the landslide-damaged highway that links Bitter Springs and Page.
FNF Construction is the same contractor ADOT successfully partnered with to complete the Temporary US 89 (US 89T) project, which now serves as the primary detour to and from the Page and Lake Powell areas. The previously unpaved Navajo Route 20 was paved in only three months to become US 89T, which opened to traffic in August.
Through a Construction-Manager-At-Risk contract, FNF Construction will work with the project design team. This early collaboration can lead to completing projects faster with reduced costs. Preconstruction services will also include the design of access roads at the project site that will be needed when construction starts as anticipated this summer.
“Every day, ADOT is getting closer to our goal of starting the US 89 landslide repair to reopen this roadway by the end of the year,” said Steve Boschen, ADOT deputy state engineer for design. “Using the Construction-Manager-At-Risk delivery method will ensure that we can optimize construction efficiency.”
The new preconstruction agreement with FNF Construction does not include the construction project to repair US 89. That contract is expected to be finalized later this spring.
The environmental and design process for a normal project can take two years to complete, but ADOT has been working with the Federal Highway Administration, Navajo Nation, Navajo Division of Transportation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to expedite the environmental, utility and right-of-way clearance and approval processes, knowing the lack of a usable road between the Bitter Springs and Page communities is a hardship for many people.
Recently, ADOT received the necessary environmental and utility clearances on the ultimate repair of US 89. Without the clearances, ADOT cannot use federal funds for this repair project.
ADOT also continues to work with the Navajo Nation on obtaining the new right-of-way easements that will be necessary prior to construction. An agreement between the Federal Highway Administration, Navajo Nation and Bureau of Indian Affairs must be reached to establish an expanded easement that facilitates construction, as well as operations and maintenance, of the repaired roadway.
The repair is currently programmed at $25 million. The project will include moving the roadway approximately 60 feet toward Echo Cliffs and using that rock to construct a downslope buttress to stabilize the area.
Little Colorado River Bridge to be replaced, roadway widened and roundabout installed
FLAGSTAFF – The Arizona Department of Transportation has begun work on a project to expand US 89 from two lanes to four lanes through the community of Cameron within the Navajo Nation, approximately 50 miles north of Flagstaff.
Major work on the $36.7 million project includes widening US 89 to two lanes in each direction between State Route 64 and the Little Colorado River (mileposts 464-467) and removal and replacement of the existing US 89 Cameron Truss Bridge with two new bridges at that location.
Additional improvements on US 89 through Cameron include constructing a roundabout at the existing intersection of US 89 and SR 64, new sidewalks, streetlights, and four pedestrian/livestock underpasses.
Construction is anticipated to be completed in two major phases with completion expected Fall 2016.
Traffic delays may occur during construction with traffic reduced to one lane. Directional signage and flaggers will be present during construction. ADOT advises motorists to be alert for construction equipment and personnel, and to proceed through the work zone with caution.