Will ADOT ever get a clue? (Phoenix, Payson: sales, how much, construction)

[Valley Native]

An audit was conducted on the Arizona Department of Transportation recently, and it came to the conclusion that the department is behind on highway maintenance. Read the entire story:
Highway upkeep is lagging in Arizona (broken link)

This is not surprising given ADOT's "priceless" record. In 1985, Maricopa County voters approved a half cent sales tax increase to fund 231 miles of new freeways for the Phoenix metro area. In 1991 an audit revealed that both ADOT & MAG had mis managed the tax revenue collected for the freeway projects. Twenty two years later, approximately HALF of the freeways promised to us in 1985 have been completed.

Then, on top of their squandering of taxpayer dollars, we read this in today's news:
Concrete barriers slowed holiday traffic (broken link)

Blocking a major highway during a busy travel weekend such as this! Brilliant!!! What is the deal with this screwed up department, and how many lame excuses can a state agency possibly come up with in a lifetime? Are what they're using for brains simply roasted from the excessive heat, or what???

[Bummer]

Have you ever watched an ADOT road crew at work, Valley?

It is amazing they ever complete any projects . . . ONE works while FIVE stand around supervising and BSing.

[Nice Nice Baby!]

AZ Republic reported a bottleneck on 87 on the way up to Payson due to closing one lane Friday afternoon. Poor planning on a holiday weekend as it took people 3 hours to get to Payson. Kids had to pull over and pee off the highway and cars were overheating causing more of a back up. They finally cleared the second lane realizing that no roadwork was being done. Good job ADOT! Pissing people off is what your good at.

[rambrush]

Originally Posted by Bummer

Have you ever watched an ADOT road crew at work, Valley?

It is amazing they ever complete any projects . . . ONE works while FIVE stand around supervising and BSing.

Well have you ever understand that the crews you are refering to only do highway maintenance? They pickup trash, old tire pieces, plow snow, repair gurdrails and clean drainage ditches to name a few? They have a pretty thankless job at times working in excessive heat and crazy traffic you should try it sometime and then you would appreciate what all is involved.

The actual construction repairs and modifications are contracted out and ADOT construction inspectors are there over seeing thos projects.

There is crews that replace smaller highway signs and others that do Interstate signage. There is striping crews that travel the state keeping you in the proper lanes.

Then you have the faciities group that keep the lights burning when you go in and get your drivers license.
So yes there are crews for every function in the state, some work in some pretty nasty,hot and dusty conditions, so give em a brake today.
Next topic:

AZ Republic reported a bottleneck on 87 on the way up to Payson due to closing one lane Friday afternoon. Poor planning on a holiday weekend as it took people 3 hours to get to Payson. Kids had to pull over and pee off the highway and cars were overheating causing more of a back up. They finally cleared the second lane realizing that no roadwork was being done. Good job ADOT! Pissing people off is what your good at.

Here is the press release issued friday advising no delays, so what happened?

No freeway construction closures over the Labor Day weekend;

ADOT urges safe driving habits



There’s good news for drivers heading out on the state’s highways over the Labor Day holiday weekend. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) says no construction closures are scheduled on Phoenix area freeways or highways across the state through the Monday holiday.



“We know a lot of people will be out on the road this weekend and we traditionally ask our contractors to take a break when heavier traffic is expected,” said ADOT Director Victor Mendez.



“We still need drivers to do their part by concentrating on safe driving,” added Mendez. “That means buckling up and being patient while driving. You need to expect the unexpected during these travel weekends.”



23 people were killed in crashes on Arizona’s roads and highways during last year’s Labor Day weekend. ADOT has joined the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and Department of Public Safety in encouraging drivers to observe the following safe driving tips:



Give yourself extra travel time
Observe speed limits, including lower speed limits in work zones
Check your vehicle before traveling, including tire pressure
Bring extra supplies, including drinking water, in case of an unscheduled closure
Get a good night’s rest before driving
Never drive while impaired


Drivers can get the latest information about highway restrictions via ADOT’s Travel Information site at ADOT Freeway Management System or by calling 5-1-1.

[Nice Nice Baby!]

That's what is so funny. They put out this press release and yet still have the cones out blocking one of the lanes of traffic on 87 north of Phoenix causing the huge bottleneck. Someone fell asleep because as everyone knows, half the population goes to the high country this weekend so it is important to keep the road clear! You tell the kids on the side of the road what happened who had to pee so badly.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by rambrush

Then you have the faciities group that keep the lights burning when you go in and get your drivers license.

Is this the same facilities group which is responsible for lighting on the freeways? Have you noticed that there are rows of lights that are turned off late at night? The lamps can't possibly all be burned out at once. This is another one of ADOT's so called cost cutting measures that was started in the '90s. The state has had a budget surplus, so there's no reason to skimp on lights as a means of reducing costs. Besides, it's not very safe.

In 1985 and again in 2004, voters in Maricopa County approved a sales tax hike/extension thinking that they were being promised new freeways & better highway maintenance. Each time, ADOT has made the lame excuse that construction & maintenance costs have increased too much. Funny that they run out of funds to keep up on construction timelines or maintenance, but they sure have enough money for new boardrooms, and playgrounds on new freeway sections before opening day! Every time this department is audited, it's revealed that they're not managing their budget as they should be.

So what's it going to take for AduhT to straighten up their act? I think it's time to turn over some of these highways to the private sector and create toll roads. These tollways have worked well in other parts of the country ... so why not here?

[rambrush]

Nope, thats why they are refered to as Facility Maintenance. Traffic signals group takes care of Lighting on roadways and rest areas to name a few.

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Is this the same facilities group which is responsible for lighting on the freeways? Have you noticed that there are rows of lights that are turned off late at night? The lamps can't possibly all be burned out at once. This is another one of ADOT's so called cost cutting measures that was started in the '90s. The state has had a budget surplus, so there's no reason to skimp on lights as a means of reducing costs. Besides, it's not very safe.

In 1985 and again in 2004, voters in Maricopa County approved a sales tax hike/extension thinking that they were being promised new freeways & better highway maintenance. Each time, ADOT has made the lame excuse that construction & maintenance costs have increased too much. Funny that they run out of funds to keep up on construction timelines or maintenance, but they sure have enough money for new boardrooms, and playgrounds on new freeway sections before opening day! Every time this department is audited, it's revealed that they're not managing their budget as they should be.

So what's it going to take for AduhT to straighten up their act? I think it's time to turn over some of these highways to the private sector and create toll roads. These tollways have worked well in other parts of the country ... so why not here?

[Ponderosa]

I doubt ADOT had anything to do with the lane closure. Most road projects are done by private contractors.

[nomorearizona]

Arizona is the worst for road work. Poor planning is a big problem. They widen a freeway and by the time they finish two years later they get to start all over again thanks to growth.

I wonder how much of this is corrupt and the ADOT people are getting kickbacks under-the-table from the contractors for the perpetual overpriced work. Most if not all of AZ government seems corrupt to me so that wouldn't be a surprise.

[Magnum Mike]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

.....Then, on top of their squandering of taxpayer dollars, we read this in today's news:
Concrete barriers slowed holiday traffic (broken link)

Blocking a major highway during a busy travel weekend such as this! Brilliant!!! What is the deal with this screwed up department, and how many lame excuses can a state agency possibly come up with in a lifetime? Are what they're using for brains simply roasted from the excessive heat, or what???

We drove to Show Low on SR 87 on Saturday afternoon, and thankfully, the traffic congestion had already cleared by the time we got to that stretch. I read about the lane closures that caused a big traffic jam, and I thought about taking SR 60, but we got on the road around 1:30 PM, so being a little late worked for the better because the one thing I can't stand is traffic coming to a complete stop on a freeway that has a 55-65 MPH speed limit.

We should only expect ADOT to close lanes on a busy holiday weekend, yeah.. that was real smart!