[Dschur]

Well for the next 2 years or so they will be putting up a bridge to cross the beeline at bush hwy. It is about time but it is going to make it rough for the next two years leaving PHX. Yesterday we left work early to "beat" the traffic coming into the town of Payson and got into the traffic from about the spot that 87 leaves the indian res to Bush Hwy or the Saguaro lake turnoff. It took us about 1 hour and 20 minutes to get thru there. The total time from PHX to Payson was 3 hrs. Normally at the most it takes us about 1hr and 20 minutes. We left from PHX at 1230 too. So this will be the worst weekend for it but still will be bad for the next couple of years. The bridge is too keep all those people that drive across the Beeline when there are cars coming and keep from accidents from happening and make that intersection safer. May keep those people from driving the wrong way on there too. We have seen numerous cars that can't figure out that intersection driving south bound on the north lanes.

[chumley]

EVT reports

It’s going to get a lot more stressful to take that relaxing weekend trip to Payson or the White Mountains.

A construction project will narrow the northbound Beeline Highway to a single lane for 10-12 months, even on weekends.

Drivers got their first taste of the project Friday, when delays grew to two hours because the route was limited to one lane. A series of missteps made Friday’s delay worse than usual. The Arizona Department of Transportation doesn’t expect other weekends to be as bad.

Still, they’re warning drivers to expect backups on state Route 87 near the Bush Highway intersection.

“We’re going to need drivers to understand that restrictions will be necessary on other holiday weekends, including Thanksgiving,” ADOT spokesman Doug Nintzel said.

Both southbound lanes will stay open. The northbound lanes are restricted because crews need to use part of the paved road to disturb as little land as possible in the Tonto National Forest. The work will improve shoulders and construct an overpass at the busy, and sometimes dangerous, intersection with the Bush Highway. The project should be done by the end of 2008.

Drivers stuck in Friday’s jam likely thought ADOT was doing construction, but workers were actually trying to move the barriers to restore both northbound lanes.

ADOT didn’t know its contractor had recently placed the barriers to narrow the highway until Thursday afternoon, Nintzel said. The agency wasn’t happy the contractor did that before the Labor Day weekend and ordered crews to restore both lanes.

Crews couldn’t get out until Friday morning. They got most barriers out of the way, but the work required that the highway be closed for short periods. “We simply ran out of time to take care of the restriction before the traffic started to build in the morning,” Nintzel said.

Dennis Alonso of Scottsdale got stuck in the jam just after noon while heading to Payson. “It took us over two hours to travel five miles in 115-degree weather,” he said.

that the 3hr delay should get much better.

There's an "official" website from ADOT on the project, but it's not currently updated.

Either way, looks like we all need to expect the trip to Payson to take longer than we're used to.

[chumley]

I was just thinking ... it would be helpful if people who drive this way over the next few months post how the trip goes, what day/time you traveled and what the conditions were. I also wonder if there will be many delays if accessing the Beeline from the Bush Hwy (a little congestion at the interchange is a lot better than 10 miles of 1-lane traffic)

[matt gilbert]

I think instead of making the road easier to navigate they should be focusing on making the traffic less drunk. I'll bet it would cost less and wouldn't take as long too.

[Dschur]

Some of the traffic may be due to drinking and boating and then driving. There are so many people that go across there that aren't and everytime I get to that intersection I slow way down. People think that they can beat the traffic across there. And there have been so many close calls. People don't know how to drive their boats or trailers behind their vehicles or how long they are. And think that people are going to slow down for them when they cross.

[azpride]

I also wonder if there will be many delays if accessing the Beeline from the Bush Hwy (a little congestion at the interchange is a lot better than 10 miles of 1-lane traffic)

As I was listening to the traffic reports Friday afternoon, the reporter said that although there were delays on the Bush highway approaching the beeline, they were much better than those on the beeline.

[Dschur]

Actually the one lane traffic started at the Bush highway going north on the Beeline. It was two lanes of stopped traffic and the one lane from the Bush going into the Beeline one lane. It was three lanes going into one and it was backed up as far as I could see on Bush highway. So that didn't help much for all. They weren't getting into the traffic much faster because alot of the people on the beeline weren't letting them in very well since everyone was a little bit frustrated from waiting so long.

[chumley]

It's been 3 weekends since the lane restriction started.

Any reports from the past two weekends on how the traffic flow is going?

(I'm heading up Friday, and haven't decided when to leave yet). thx.

[Dschur]

We drove up on Friday at about 4pm and the traffic was fine. After Labor Day it slows down. It was a little bit busy but not too bad. The most this time of year is all the hunter traffic and a lot of the time they spread it out in the middle of the week too. I drive up it every other Friday so this Friday wouldn't be able to see but my husband said he had no trouble on the Friday before either.

[chumley]

I drove up Friday 9/28. Left Tempe at about 2pm. There were a couple of sections of single-lane restriction between Ft. McDowell and the 4-Peaks road, but no traffic back-up at all. Slower traffic in the construction areas caused the trip to be about 10 minutes longer than normal.

(The Sunday return trip was a nightmare. Beeline closed for 10 hours due to tanker explosion. I detoured 260 to I-17, and that was backed up 35 miles due to a fatal accident there ! I need a helicopter)

[Kevin R 15]

I drove up to Payson 9-24, a Monday. The day after the truck exploded. Not much if any of a delay. It's 1 lane and 55mph thru the bridge repair, and truck hole repair, just before bridge.
I considered this fortunate, compared to what I read.

[Dschur]

I drove up to Payson 9-24, a Monday. The day after the truck exploded. Not much if any of a delay. It's 1 lane and 55mph thru the bridge repair, and truck hole repair, just before bridge.
I considered this fortunate, compared to what I read.

All the way down the hill is 55 mph normally where the tanker blew up. Most people don't follow that but it is 55 for a reason there has been so many accidents in the spot where the tanker blew up. From 2 hay trucks to another tanker a couple of years ago there was even a couple that pulled over since there trailer came off the trailer hitch and both were killed when a person going too fast took the corner and ran into their trailer and ran them over. Also in the winter on that corner the ice will form right at the bottom of the hill on the first curve heading north. Right now there is no delay or anything but a sign telling you that it is 45 mph in the corner on a message board.

[chumley]

I'll resurrect this thread to talk about the landslide which has closed the Beeline this weekend.

Anybody know where this has happened? I heard that a portion of the roadway collapsed and the ground is unstable due to underground springs.

I know it's been a wet winter ... but underground springs that haven't previously been known or caused any problems? I'd have to assume this is somewhere along the "new" section of roadway near Mt. Ord that bypasses Sunflower?

[Grasshopper]

I'll resurrect this thread to talk about the landslide which has closed the Beeline this weekend.
Anybody know where this has happened? I'd have to assume this is somewhere along the "new" section of roadway near Mt. Ord that bypasses Sunflower?

Natl Public Radio news just confirmed that it IS CLOSED to both North & South traffic at Sunflower for probably the entire weekend with no firm opening schedule as of now. South bound traffic on Hwy 87 will be diverted at Hwy 188 and North bound traffic on Hwy 87 will be diverted in the Fountain Hills area at the Bush Hwy intersection.

Hank

[nonot]

Thanks for the heads up. What if you are going to the Mazatzals, is it completely blocked?

[Grasshopper]

Thanks for the heads up. What if you are going to the Mazatzals, is it completely blocked?

Here is the latest scoop off of the ADOT web site. Sounds like we will have to hike to the Mazatzal's this weekend!
but is it both North bound and South bound traffic, or just South bound to PHX area?


*** State Route 87 ***

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Event Id 252496
Location On State Route 87, NS-bound from mile post 235.70, at SR 188 to mile post 199.10, at Bush Highway Saguaro Lake Rd
Duration from Fri, 21 Mar 2008 5:13 PM to Mon, 24 Mar 2008 5:00 AM
Description closed due to land slide
Restrictions
Public Notes road closed due to pavement buckle as a result of an earth slide. traffic detoured on to sr-188. phoenix traffic use sr-188 south through to us-60 west at globe.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[joe bartels]

... to Mon, 24 Mar 2008 5:00 AM

That's a lot earlier than the two weeks figure reported on the news!

Looks like a cliff above broke through one of those faux boulder walls. Where they poke rebar in ten feet deep every square foot or so then sculpt the outside over mesh. Those were some gnarly buckles! Imagine a four foot jump at seventy mph

[nonot]

Supposedly north bound will reopen by Monday, possibly today. No official date on south bound, but it will likely take awhile.

It looks like flooding caused a 50 foot retaining wall to give way and is covering the highway in dirt and mud. The news is sketchy as to if the pavement was buckled/foundation damaged of if it is simply caused the water is causing mudslides onto the road.

[joe bartels]

The largest ripple in the pavement appeared to be almost waist height in the news video. Looks like the cliff broke through the faux wall and the weight pushed up under the road. Willey Coyote wasn't crushed by a big boulder.

[Dschur]

The largest ripple in the pavement appeared to be almost waist height in the news video. Looks like the cliff broke through the faux wall and the weight pushed up under the road. Willey Coyote wasn't crushed by a big boulder.

They are talking about opening both north and south today. Routing both on the north bound lanes. The major crack is huge. Good pictures on ADOTS website. There is a spring that seeps water thru the pavement in that area too. They paved right over it and this winter is where all the spinning and sliding was done on the beeline when it froze.