Arizona Highway Team Wins the Gold from National Partnership for Highway Quality

Environmental Stewardship Protected Animals, Plants and Rocks

Austin,TX/September 4, 2003 – The National Partnership for Highway Quality (NPHQ) today presented its 2003 Gold Award to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), Sundt Construction Inc., and the URS Corporation for the US 93-Boulders Reconstruction Project. NPHQ is a partnership of federal and state highway officials and leaders in the roadway industry who advocate customer-centered practices for roads that are completed quicker, ride better, last longer, reduce congestion and improve safety.

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The Boulder Reconstruction Project was a collaboration of ADOT, the contractor, designer, Federal Highway Administration, state and local officials, property owners, subcontractors, and material suppliers. The task was to widen 7.5 miles of the narrow, winding highway through rugged and environmentally sensitive Mohave Desert terrain from a two-lane roadway to a four-lane divided highway while improving safety features. US 93, also known as the Joshua Forest Parkway, is a designated scenic route that cuts diagonally across northwest Arizona from metropolitan Phoenix to I-40 just east of Kingman. Although 95% of the heavily-traveled corridor lies in rural areas, it is an integral part of the official CanaMex Corridor for North American Free Trade; over 8,000 vehicles travel this section of US 93 daily, 25% of which is commercial truck traffic.

Years of planning with government agencies, local business, and the community, along with an extensive outreach campaign, kept stakeholders in the loop and anchored solid partnerships. After work kicked off, the highway team's commitment to quality infused every aspect of the job. One of many examples was environmental stewardship. Customers ranged beyond two-legged humans; they included animals, vegetation and minerals. Accommodations for wildlife were extensive; the Desert Tortoise, for instance, had its own protection and mobility plan during construction, and tortoise training was mandated for all crews. About 20,000 cactus and other flora were salvaged, preserved in nurseries, and replanted to maintain the beauty of the corridor. Due to strict quality control, plant survivability exceeded 90%. Nearly 3,000 boulders strewn by ancient glacial activity across the area were salvaged and placed back. The beauty of the final roadway is testament to the team's environmental stewardship.

The Executive Director of the National Partnership for Highway Quality, Bob Templeton, said, "The Boulders Project embodies the best practices of the highway quality movement, and its success is reflected in key quality measures. Besides taking stellar environmental mitigation measures, the team finished the $16.3 million effort 8 months ahead of schedule. To stay ahead and to minimize traffic disruptions, some crews worked double shifts on one of the deadliest sections of roadway in the state. Yet there were no major accidents caused by construction zone restrictions or closures and the number of severe highway accidents has decreased significantly since. This undertaking exceeded customer expectations which, at the end of the day, is the goal of all great highway projects."

The National Partnership for Highway Quality is composed of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), American Highway Users Alliance (AHUA), The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), Foundation for Pavement Preservation (FP2), Granite Construction Company, the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET), National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), Kiewit Corporation, RedVector.com, Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), URS Corporation, and Williams Brothers Construction Company.

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