NAZ Today » ADOT

ADOT Getting Ready to Close 11 MVD Offices

NAZ Today — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:10:27 +0000

PHOENIX (AP) — Layoffs have begun as the Arizona Department of Transportation gets ready to close 11 Motor Vehicle Division offices on Feb. 12.

The closures are part of an agency-wide effort to balance a $100 million budget deficit tied to the state’s fiscal crisis.

MVD offices to close include ones in Ajo, Benson, Bisbee, central Phoenix, Clifton, east Mesa, Fredonia, Kearny, Superior, Willcox and Williams.

The offices in Ajo, Clifton, Fredonia and Superior are currently open only part-time. In all, MVD customer service offices will be reduced from 61 offices to 50.

Through a partnership with the city, the MVD customer service office in St. Johns will be open part-time starting Feb. 16 to serve customers on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The office was initially proposed to close.

URGENT: Governor Brewer Declares State of Emergency for All of Arizona

Patrick Walker — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:05:02 +0000

**FILE** Gov. Jan Brewer a (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

PHOENIX (NAZ Today)– Earlier this evening, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer issued a State of Emergency which is in effect for the entire state of Arizona.

As part of the Declaration, the state Emergency Operations Center was activated at 5 pm this evening. This center, manned by several state agencies and headed by the Arizona Department of Emergency Management, is located within the Papago Park Military Reservation in Phoenix. The center will coordinate with several state agencies as well as DPS/ADOT command posts in Flagstaff and Star Valley (outside of Payson).

Additionally, the State of Emergency allows for an initial $200,000 to be released from the Governor’s Emergency Fund (part of the State General Fund) that can be used to assist in paying for responses and recovery expenses from the weather events. Approximately $2.5 million remains in the fund, which may be tapped into should more money be needed by a vote from the state’s emergency council, made up of the Governor and 11 other elected and designated voting members.

The details of the declaration include the following directives, according to a press release from the Governor’s Office:

Declares that a State of Emergency exists in Apache, Coconino, Gila, Maricopa, and Navajo counties until further notice; and
Directs that $200,000 be made available to the Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency Management to be spent on emergency efforts; and
Directs the state’s Emergency Response and Recovery Plan to be used to direct and control State and other assets being used during the emergency; and
Allows the Arizona National Guard to be mobilized and used where needed “to assist in the protection of life and property throughout the state.”

The Governor’s office recommends to limit travel, listen to or read the latest forecasts from the National Weather Service, and stay out of flooded roadways. As little as 6-8 inches off flowing water is enough to stall a vehicle.

Governor Brewer’s declaration comes on the heels of heavy rains and flooding across central Arizona, heavy snowfall and road closures in northern Arizona, and numerous traffic accidents and severe thunderstorms in southern Arizona throughout the day on Thursday, along with several counties and municipalities (including Williams and Flagstaff) declaring their own States of Emergency and the activation of several evacuation shelters statewide.

DPS Sets Up Command Post To Help Coordinate During This Week’s Storms

Patrick Walker — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:00:40 +0000

DPS Command Post set up at the ADOT Flagstaff District Office on Milton Road (NAZ Today/Patrick Walker)

*This story first appeared Monday, 1/18*

FLAGSTAFF (NAZ Today)– The threat of several feet of snow this week has prompted the Department of Public Safety to set up a command post in Flagstaff.

After working with a “skeleton crew” earlier this morning, a full shift’s worth of DPS officers were on duty by the afternoon hours in the Flagstaff area, according to DPS Sgt. Brian Eekhoff. He said that there were already a number of slide-offs that officers were responding to on area highways and interstates. If the number of slide-offs and accidents continues to grow, Eekhoff says that additional officers could be called in from other towns like Camp Verde and Prescott.

Back in December, DPS officers were very busy during the snowstorm that included a blizzard at one point. Because of the number of officers working during the storm and the area that had to be covered, it was hard to coordinate efforts with other departments. ”We had some trouble communicating with ADOT during the peak of the storm, so we decided to set up a command post right here [at the ADOT District Office on Milton],” Sgt. Eekhoff said. The command post will allow for supervisors to more effectively communicate with ADOT officials next door in their offices, helping to coordinate information on road conditions, accident locations, and road closures as needed.

ADOT snow plows in formation clear Milton Road in front of Target. DPS is working to better coordinate with ADOT. (NAZ Today/Patrick Walker)

Eekhoff also says that there is somewhat of a pattern with the accidents that happen during snowstorms. He says that the bulk of the accidents and slide-offs that DPS responds to happen when the storms are just starting, or while you can still see asphalt. Out of town drivers, especially motorists from California heading east on I-40 or from Phoenix heading north on I-17, continue driving at normal speeds and hit the slick roads, causing the accidents. Accidents tend to decrease in frequency when the roads become snow-packed and several inches have accumulated on the side of the road, because motorists slow down and drive more carefully with the presence of the snow, Eekoff added.

DPS Command Vehicle (NAZ Today/Patrick Walker)

As always, DPS reminds motorists to slow down and increase stopping distances during times of bad weather. Be mindful of stopped vehicles and emergency workers near accidents.

ADOT Suspends Construction this Weekend

Kevin Boughton — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:25:00 +0000

PHOENIX (AP) — Drivers heading out on the highway over the Thanksgiving weekend in Arizona will get a break on road construction.

The Arizona Department of Transportation says crews will take the holiday weekend off.

The restrictions will remain in place until Monday morning.

On The Net:

www.az511.gov

Williams MVD Office, 11 Others to Close

Patrick Walker — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:13:02 +0000

Many MVD offices will be closing soon. (ADOT Image/azdot.gov)

WILLIAMS (NAZ Today)– Two northern Arizona Motor Vehicle Division offices are on the list of offices that the Arizona Department of Transportation says will close in the near future.

The Williams and Fredonia offices are on the list, along with eight other rural offices, and two offices in the greater Phoenix area. These represent about 20 percent of ADOT’s MVD offices statewide, but were picked to close based on factors such as numbers of customers served, facility conditions, and proximity to other nearby MVD offices.

MVD offices are used for voter registration, so a federal review is underway to determine when the offices can close.

The offices to close are:

Ajo
Benson
Bisbee
Clifton
Fredonia
Kearny
St. Johns
Superior
Willcox
Williams
Central Phoenix
Mesa

–
On the web: www.azdot.gov

ADOT Reports Serious Impacts Upon Budget Cut

Kyle Anderson — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:53:18 +0000

PHOENIX (AP) — By: Paul Davenport – The Arizona Department of Transportation would lay off at least half its staff and close all remaining rest areas and nearly all Motor Vehicle Division field offices if spending cuts are chosen to close a big budget gap, the department said in a new report.

The department has already taken a 20 percent budget cut for the fiscal year, prompting it to impose cost-cutting measures that include closing most rest areas and one in five MVD offices. But the report released late Monday said the impact from an additional 15 percent cut would go much farther.

The report was one of the last due from a major agency under Gov. Jan Brewer’s September directive that agencies describe impacts if lawmakers insist on a cuts-only approach to closing the state’s midyear budget gap. Brewer is pitching a temporary sales tax increase to raise state revenue and reduce the size of budget cuts.

Other agencies’ reports also cited deep impacts if 15 percent cuts are made, including closure of the state parks system, slashed programs for behavioral health, early releases for thousands of prison inmates and layoffs of hundreds of Department of Public Safety officers.

According to the ADOT report, “all but a few” of the 61 MVD offices would be closed, and all rest area operations would be suspended.

Other impacts listed in the report include suspension of all highway maintenance work except for emergency responses, reduced frequencies of snowplowing and layoffs of up to 2,000 to 2,400 employees — roughly 50 percent to 60 percent of the department’s current work force.

The department previously eliminated 450 jobs through attrition.

ADOT also said it would be difficult to maintain current operations of the state-owned Grand Canyon Airport and Arizona Highways magazine, the monthly publication whose glossy photos promote the state’s natural beauty.

Because the hypothetical 15 percent cut would come roughly halfway through the fiscal year that began July 1, it would actually amount to a 30 percent cut of funding still unspent, the report said.

“Staffing cuts of this size are unprecedented, and if implemented, would be devastating to the department, our employees and our customers,” Director John Halikowski wrote.

The midyear budget shortfall had been estimated at $1.5 billion, but legislative budget analysts last week raised their projection to $2 billion, or roughly a fifth of a budget that includes $1.1 billion funded through federal stimulus dollars.

Navajo Nation Transportation Meetings

Haley Quiner — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:26:35 +0000

In conjunction with ADOT, the Navajo Department of Transportation is holding two meetings to inform the public about an ongoing transportation project within the Navajo Nation.

The meetings will allow the public to ask questions and learn about the current status of the Navajo Nation Long Range Transportation Plan. The issues to be discussed include the future plans for transportation and current transportation needs for the Navajo people.

Both meetings will be held on Thursday, April 23rd at two different locations. The morning meeting will be from 10:00 am to noon at the Tuba City Chapter House and the second meeting will be in the evening from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Chinle Chapter House.

For more information, contact Salisa Norstog, Principal Planner, Navajo Department of Transportation at (928) 871-7985.