ADOT is proud to partner with the American Society of Civil Engineers Transportation and Development Institute (T&DI) for the 2025 Transportation Conferences, June 8-11, 2025, in Glendale, Arizona, where the International Conference on Transportation and Development (ICTD 2025) will be co-locating with the International Airfield and Highway Pavements Conference (Pavements 2025). Interested in presenting your work at these conferences? Learn more about submission topics by visiting the ICTD 2025 and Pavements 2025 websites. #ICTD25: https://www.asce-ictd.org/ #Pavements25: https://lnkd.in/edqDC-Y

Volunteers with ADOT's Adopt a Highway program helped keep our state grand in 2024 by removing 10,400 bags of litter while contributing 17,891 hours of labor worth $538,000. “These impressive numbers only begin to tell how Adopt a Highway volunteers are making a significant difference in Arizona,” said Mary Currie, ADOT’s Adopt a Highway Program Manager. “State highways that provide a first impression for many visitors, and making sure they are as clean as possible enhances Arizona’s natural beauty.” Representing 871 volunteer groups that have adopted state highway miles, 7,686 of these dedicated individuals participated in Adopt a Highway cleanups last year, mainly outside of Arizona’s metropolitan areas. There’s plenty of opportunity for even more Arizonans to become Adopt a Highway volunteers. Civic-minded individuals, families, religious groups and others may receive two-year permits to clean up roadside litter on highway segments, usually a mile in each direction and largely in rural areas, that are deemed safe for volunteers. Groups agree to pick up litter in an adopted stretch at least once per year and preferably three or more times a year. They coordinate with ADOT to arrange for safety vests, litter bags and training for pickup events and then report the results. Another benefit: Each adopted stretch has a recognition sign bearing the Adopt a Highway group’s name. For more information or to join our Adopt a Highway family, please visit azdot.gov/AdoptAHighway.

Registration is open for the American Society of Civil Engineers Transportation and Development Institute (T&DI) 2025 Transportation Conferences June 8-11 in Glendale, Ariz. The International Conference on Transportation and Development (ICTD 2025) will be co-locating with the International Airfield and Highway Pavements Conference (Pavements 2025). ADOT is proud to partner with ASCE in presenting these conferences. Registration information: #ICTD25: https://bit.ly/2YI7c6w #Pavements25: https://bit.ly/4jsOp9v

📣 Arizona State Transportation Board announces new chair, vice-chair Current CEO of Horizon Strategies and former Gilbert Mayor Jenn Daniels is the new chair of the Arizona State Transportation Board, which is tasked with prioritizing transportation needs, projects, and funding while advising the Arizona Department of Transportation. Daniels was appointed to the board in 2020 representing District 1, which includes Maricopa County and parts of Pinal County. Chair Daniels was an elected member of the Gilbert Town Council from 2009 to 2016 and Gilbert’s Mayor from 2016 to 2020. She currently serves on the State’s Arizona Commerce Authority board as well as regional boards including the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) Regional Council and is former chair of the MAG Transportation Policy Committee. “Transportation is the state’s largest ongoing investment and impacts every Arizonan, every business and every visitor. Our responsibility as leaders, policymakers, and forward thinkers is of the utmost importance to the prosperity of Arizona,” Daniels said. “We strive to balance the current and future needs of our state and that in every interaction, the public is heard, seen and valued.” Daniels follows Cochise County leader Richard Searle, who served as chair throughout 2024. Searle has represented Cochise, Greenlee and Santa Cruz counties on the board since 2020. Pima County leader Ted Maxwell will serve as the board’s vice-chairman. He is President and CEO of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and was appointed to the State Transportation Board in 2021 to represent Pima County. The State Transportation Board Members are nominated by the governor and confirmed by the State Senate for a six-year term. About the State Transportation Board: The seven-member State Transportation Board has policy powers and duties, in addition to advising the director of the Arizona Department of Transportation. Board members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate and serve six-year terms. The board has broad authority to plan and develop Arizona’s highways, airports and other state transportation facilities. In addition to these general policy duties, the board is responsible for development and oversight of the state’s Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program. More information on the State Transportation Board is available at aztransportationboard.gov.

A fast response by ADOT maintenance crews from Mesa and Payson likely kept a brush fire from spreading along State Route 87 this week. ADOT’s Traffic Operations Center (TOC) in Phoenix was notified of the fire along southbound SR 87 south of Sunflower early Thursday morning, Jan. 16. Jerry Turner, ADOT’s highway operations supervisor at the agency’s Mesa Maintenance Office, received a text from the TOC, and crews sprang into action. "I happened to be on the phone with Brett Rupp from the Payson maintenance office and asked about getting one of their water trucks to the scene," said Turner. "When I arrived on scene, crews from Payson were closing a lane and, minutes later, Scott Umbenhauer pulled up with the water truck." It was a fast-moving fire due to windy conditions, and some embers were blowing across the pavement, Turner said. But from that point the situation took a positive turn. “Scott made a first pass to spray water along the southbound shoulder and then backed up while using the truck’s spray cannon to hit the flames over a distance of about 50 to 60 feet. After several more passes our crews had contained the fire.” Turner said the blaze was under control, providing a much easier job for Tonto National Forest fire crews to mop up. "Without our Payson team’s help, I have no doubt the fire would have gone beyond our control because of the wind," he said. "The water truck made all the difference." Brett Rupp, who serves as ADOT’s Payson maintenance supervisor, said agency crews stay alert to fires along state highways like SR 87. "There are no boundaries between ADOT districts when these things happen," he said. "It’s all about teaming up to respond to the situation. That’s especially important with these dry weather conditions in place."

ADOT, the Gila River Indian Community and the Federal Highway Administration took part in the signing of the exciting and important $95 million grant on Friday, Jan. 17. This grant signing completed funding for the I-10 Wild Horse Pass Corridor Project and will be used to widen a portion of I-10 to between Gas Line Road and SR 387, improve the SR 387/SR 187/Pinal Avenue inter-changes and build a new Seed Farm Road interchange. The US Department of Transportation awarded Arizona this grant in 2024. Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG)

Planning or developing around airports? Learn how to navigate the balance between airport operations and surrounding land use at ADOT’s expert-led webinars, based on guidance in ADOT’s updated Arizona Airport Land Use Manual. Whether you’re a local government official, airport representative or real estate professional, let us help you be prepared to successfully move forward with your project. Registration information for these free webinars: ✈️ Airport Representatives: 9-10 a.m. Jan. 21. Register: https://bit.ly/42bhQa7 ✈️ Local Governments: 12-1 p.m. Jan. 21. Register: https://bit.ly/3Wlas86 ✈️ Real Estate Professionals and Developers: 10-11 a.m. Jan. 23. Register: https://bit.ly/42hS9oe The Arizona Airport Land Use Manual can be found here: https://bit.ly/42hbvtQ

For the second year in a row, ADOT's Mesa Maintenance Unit decked out heavy equipment in twinkling lights for the APS Electric Light Parade in Phoenix. Randy Everett, Central District Administrator with ADOT, said 24 volunteers from ADOT participated. "Our Mesa Maintenance Unit once again put together two beautiful floats that made ADOT proud," he said. "We had 24 wonderful volunteers this year from ADOT walking alongside the floats, waving to the crowds and handing out candy to children, or elves who sat in the sleigh atop the float waving to the crowd." ADOT's floats consisted of a snowplow bedazzled with twinkling lights and a truck that pulled a flatbed trailer with Santa's sleigh and reindeer. Jerry Turner, a supervisor with the Mesa Maintenance District, said he loved the final product adding that it took over three days to decorate the floats. ADOT'S snowplow float wasn't just festive -- it was a unique way to highlight the vital role these vehicles play during winter storms. "We had a great time," he said. "I thought it turned out pretty good." "Seeing the smiles on the kids' faces makes it all worth it. It feels great to bring some holiday joy to the community."

In a season when many are looking for ways to give back, one way to do that and express yourself in the process is getting a specialty license plate. ADOT's Motor Vehicle Division offers 104 specialty plates, allowing you to express yourself while supporting groups that benefits from the proceeds. This episode of the On the Road With ADOT podcast features Bill Lamoreaux, our chief communicator on MVD matters. Bill discusses how specialty plates come to be (preview: not from ADOT), which are the most popular, how much they cost and how specialty plates might work as holiday gifts. Spend a few minutes listening to Bill chat with host Doug Nintzel and you might wind up with Alice Cooper on your vehicle's rear bumper promoting Solid Rock Teen Centers, among scores of other choices. Full podcast episode Apple: https://apple.co/3CTPs1D Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3zHywKF

A new research partnership between the Arizona Department of Transportation and the state’s three public universities will help keep ADOT at the forefront of innovation, nurture a new generation of transportation professionals and support Arizona’s economy. ADOT has entered into an agreement with the newly formed Arizona Transportation Institute (AZTI) to leverage the expertise of University of Arizona, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University faculty and students to propose and conduct research. The ADOT Research Center administers state planning and research funding that the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation provides to state departments of transportation and subrecipients. “We’re tremendously excited to partner with talented faculty and students in a way that can improve the lives of Arizonans, support our state’s economy and promote transportation engineering as an exciting and essential career,” ADOT Director Jennifer Toth said. Through the Arizona Transportation Institute, based at the University of Arizona, faculty at the three universities will submit proposals to conduct transportation research, with the Arizona Transportation Institute encouraging collaboration among universities. This collaboration aims to foster innovative transportation technologies, planning methods and engineering approaches that can improve Arizona’s transportation system and create better communities. “Arizona will benefit tremendously from establishing this coordinated structure for the brightest minds at the three universities to optimize transportation, a huge quality-of-life issue for every resident,” said Arizona Transportation Institute Director Yao-Jan Wu, a University of Arizona professor of civil and architectural engineering and mechanics. “I’m grateful for this investment and eager for the institute to assess, develop and implement the researchers’ ideas.” University researchers have already begun work on a number of research projects requested by ADOT. For example: ▪️ Researchers at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University will look into the impacts of heavier and oversize vehicles on roads and bridges compared to other vehicles in terms of construction, maintenance and repair costs. ▪️ Northern Arizona University and University of Arizona researchers will develop Arizona-specific factors to aid ADOT’s decisions on the location and types of safety countermeasures intended to reduce the frequency and severity of crashes. ▪️ Arizona State University and University of Arizona researchers will explore whether landscaping and vegetation management that encourages recovery of native plants following wildfires can reduce repair and maintenance costs for roadways. To learn more about research at ADOT, please visit azdot.gov/research.