Arizona Department of Transportation SR 179 Improvement Project
(800) 529-2876 www.scenic179.com pr@scenic179.com

Welcome to the State Route (SR) 179 Project Weekly Construction Update - your electronic connection to the SR 179 Project with the most current information on construction plans and activities.

Please note: Changes to construction plans can happen frequently due to weather, equipment availability and personnel issues. We try to anticipate construction activities a week in advance but changes may occur. Intermittent lane closures, with short delays, may not always be known in advance.

For a complete listing of freeway and highway restrictions across Arizona visit ADOT's Travel Information Site at www.az511.com or call 5-1-1.

Have a Happy and Safe Labor Day Weekend

There will be no work or traffic restrictions starting at the end of the workday Friday, August 31 and throughout the Labor Day weekend.  Work will resume Tuesday, September 4.  ADOT and the construction team would like to wish you a happy and safe Labor Day weekend.

Key Milestones Represent Progress

Both bridge decks have now been poured on the new southbound alignment in Coconino National Forest.  A bridge deck pour is a major activity that requires crews to work through the night and represents a significant milestone for the construction team.  The two bridges will be essentially complete within a few weeks and the bridge crews will “demobilize,” meaning that they will clean up their work areas and leave the project site.

Paving crews are being mobilized to the area, representing another major milestone toward project completion.  The paving crews will start within the forest while concrete and other crews work in the Village to prepare for paving. Noticeably in the Village, the concrete crews are making significant progress on the curb and gutter and sidewalks, and the base layer and fine grading are underway to prepare for paving.

Traffic Notices for the week of August 27:

• Crews in the Village of Oak Creek are installing inlet pipes that cross under the road to direct storm water from the west side of the road into the new storm drain system on the east side.  These activities, occurring between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. near the entrance to Bell Rock Vista, may require the closure of one lane of traffic.  Two-way traffic will be directed by flaggers.
  
  
• New driveway installations at the Blue Moon Café/ACE Hardware and Circle K are scheduled to be complete this week. Access to businesses will be maintained. Each driveway takes about one week to form, pour, and set.
  


• Watch for blue signs to guide you to businesses.



• Two-way traffic is being maintained.
  

Utility Work Continues

Utilities are currently working within City of Sedona limits (Back O’ Beyond to the “Y”) to prepare for the roadway improvements. Some night work between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. may require shifting of traffic lanes.  Traffic will be maintained in both directions and directed by flag crews at all times.

Special Update on Vegetation

Throughout the planning, design, and construction of improvements to SR 179, the project Agency Stakeholders (Federal Highway Administration, ADOT, Coconino National Forest, Yavapai County, Coconino County, City of Sedona, and Big Park Regional Coordinating Council) have specifically committed to minimizing the loss and replacement of all vegetation along the SR 179 corridor.

On Project 1, several native trees have been salvaged and will be relocated within the Forest.  Yavapai County and the Big Park Regional Coordinating Council have applied for, and received, a federal grant to landscape the non-forest service sections within the Village.

For Project 2, the City of Sedona has applied for grants and incorporated their own funds to landscape portions of the new roadway (the Business District and roundabouts), with provisions to complete the rest as funding becomes available.

The area of the Oak Creek streambed and channel that will be disturbed by bridge and wall construction will be mitigated by a plan approved by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and Army Corps of Engineers.

• Less than ten large (> 18” diameter trunk size) trees will be removed by road and bridge construction in the area of Oak Creek.
  
  
• None of the large sycamores within the Tlaquepaque parking lot or within their wall will be removed.
  
  
• ADOT has consulted with a Certified Arborist on how to protect the root systems of the trees that are to remain in place to minimize stress to those trees.

Project 2

Project 2 starts at Back O Beyond and proceeds to the “Y” intersection of SR 179 and SR 89A.  Project 2 has advertised for construction, and bids are due in September.

Road improvement work should start on Project 2 in early 2008.