SR87 - aka Beeline Hwy

[chumley]

The engineering cluster that is the entire Slate Creek area is once again going under the ADOT knife.

The Beeline will be reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction until fall so that crews can once again attempt to prevent the whole area from sliding down the hill.

So, be prepared for slow traffic in the general Sunflower / Mt. Ord / Slate Creek area (about 20 miles south of Payson).

Info here: https://www.azdot.gov/projects/northcen ... t/overview

[chumley]

@hikeaz
I'm pretty sure that ADOT considers everything between the two casinos on the 87 to be "near Sunflower".

[nonot]

Kurt, is this just a 1 day thing? I'm not finding it on azdot.gov?

[hikeaz]

Kurt, is this just a 1 day thing? I'm not finding it on azdot.gov?

Steve,
When I read about it yesterday it stated Wednesday & Thursday restriction - as Wednesday had already passed I omitted it.

[Dschur]

This is happening everyday except the weekends.. next to the slide... they have it down to 35mph and have cops there a lot too..

[hikeaz]

SR 87 NB/SB south of Winslow near Clint's Well.
Road is closed for the Tinder Fire from MP 290-312.

[hikeaz]

Drivers who travel State Route 87 should plan for daytime and overnight delays and allow extra travel time beginning Monday, Dec. 2, while Arizona Department of Transportation crews complete crack fill work, weather permitting.

The preservation work, which protects against erosion and extends the life of the pavement, is scheduled to occur along nearly 30 miles of SR 87 in Maricopa County and on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. Work is scheduled on sections of the highway between Big Rincon Tank (milepost 216) and the Central Arizona Project Canal (milepost 187).

ADOT advises drivers to use caution around construction personnel and equipment while the following restrictions are in place:

Southbound SR 87 will be narrowed to one lane (alternating closures) between National Forest Road 11 and Big Rincon Tank Mondays through Fridays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., beginning on Monday, Dec. 2, through Friday, Dec. 13. Weekend work is not scheduled.
Southbound SR 87 will be narrowed to one lane (alternating closures) between National Forest Road 402 and National Forest Road 403 daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., beginning on Monday, Dec. 16, and ending on Friday, Dec. 20.
SR 87 will be narrowed to one lane in both directions (alternating closures) between the Central Arizona Project canal and Burntwater Road nightly from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., beginning Sunday, Jan. 5, through Friday, Jan. 17, 2020.

[hikeaz]

For any early/late travelers..
SR-87 Northbound
Highway closed on SR-87 Northbound from Bushnell Tanks Rd (223) to Gila Maricopa County Line (236) . All Lanes Closed. 7/20/2020 11:55 PM to 7/21/2020 3:00 AM
Comment
SR-87 closed to remove barricades for an oversize load move. No detour available. Avoid travel during the closure hours.
Start Time Jul 20 2020, 11:55 PM
Anticipated End Time Jul 21 2020, 3:00 AM

[chumley]

@hikeaz
I'm no state employee (ah, crap, nevermind) but instead of moving all the barriers ... since you're closing the damn highway anyway ... why not just close the unobstructed SOUTHbound lanes and let the oversize load drive north in the southbound lanes for that stretch. Open it again as soon as it has made the trip. It takes a handful of police/adot vehicles to block traffic at the potential entrance points. No moving dozens of miles of barriers needed. Takes maybe half an hour?

[Alston_Neal]

@chumley
And they do it at the height of traffic flow! Cretins...

[nonot]

@chumley

the southbound lanes remain open the way they are doing it, so rather than closing in both directions (per your idea) they only close one direction.

Half a highway is better than none?

[chumley]

@nonot
Except they wouldn't have to close the nb lanes at all. Same thing. Only one direction closed. But for much less time, and much less effort moving barricades.

[hikeaz]

@nonot
Except they wouldn't have to close the nb lanes at all. Same thing. Only one direction closed. But for much less time, and much less effort moving barricades.

You'd be KILLING DPS & ADOT overtime income though.....

[nonot]

@nonot
Except they wouldn't have to close the nb lanes at all. Same thing. Only one direction closed. But for much less time, and much less effort moving barricades.

I disagree, seems you'd have to close the highway completely (in both directions) twice. Once to institute the highway direction swap over and halt the SB traffic. The other to institute the highway direction swap back and resume the SB traffic.
Can't have drivers going both directions in the same lane at the same time.

Plus, the signage needed for turns, "backwards" facing speed limit signs, the reflector signage for helping night navigation to not drive off the roads, to cover up the wrong way signs, all would have to be done upon the decision to use any lane in the opposite direction it was meant for, which means probably a week or month of prep work to institute the Chumley plan. Safety matters, and takes time unfortunately. I imagine you weren't considering the impact on road signs.

I have a feeling the ADOT way in this case is the most efficient way with least impact to commuters.

[chumley]

@nonot
You're making my proposal way more complicated than my actual thinking. Only a single vehicle is making a single 15 mile trip on a closed section of highway (ok, probably also an escort vehicle or two). No speed limit signs or any complications. Simply stop southbound traffic long enough for that single vehicle to use those lanes northbound. Everything else keeps going northbound as normal. No stopping, no crossovers, no reflectors, no speed limit signs, nothing.

But you are almost certainly correct. I'm sure ADOT has thought it out and made the best decision.

[nonot]

Perhaps I misunderstood your proposal, if you want to stop all public traffic for the 30 minutes it takes to have the one vehicle/escorts drive on the wrong side of the road, and then reopen everything, that would be simpler. But it would still involve closing the highway in both directions to the public for awhile, which I suspect they are trying to avoid.

[Nighthiker]

The past couple of months there has been several huge oversized loads heading south bound on AZ 87 the first was a very large cylinder about 20 feet in diameter that looked like some kind of pressure tank. The last two looked liked sections of a submarine.

[rustyshackleford135]

Went up a few days ago and no delays either way. Northbound on a weekday at 10am and southbound at about 6pm

[hikeaz]

The Arizona Department of Transportation advises drivers to plan ahead for alternating lane closures for pavement maintenance on State Route 87 between Cline Cabin Road and approximately four miles south of Bush Highway (mileposts 204 - 194) from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, beginning Monday, Nov. 30 through Jan. 7**.

**- There will be no restrictions in place from Dec. 21 through Jan. 1.

[DixieFlyer]

@hikeaz
thanks for the info. Do you know if this is northbound, southbound, or both?

[hikeaz]

@DixieFlyer
Not yet. ADOT's current info is incomplete.