State Route 69

The Arizona Department of Transportation will begin a project to improve the capacity of State Route 69 between Glassford Hill Road and Prescott East Highway on Aug 17.  The project will add a travel lane on the north side of SR 69, replace the existing road surface with rubberized asphalt, and improve drainage.

The work will take place between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Friday. Although there will be no daytime lane restrictions or closures, crews will need to restrict traffic lanes during nighttime work hours to provide a safe work zone.

To accommodate the additional lane on the north side of SR 69, the right turn lane at Valley View Drive will be reconstructed.  In early September, access to Valley View Drive will be closed to traffic for a short period.  Traffic will be able to access businesses from the frontage road by using either Glassford Hill Road or Prescott East Highway.

In February, a public open house was held to gather input on the final design of these improvements.  Three design plans were presented.  Two of the three design plans would have removed left turn access onto Valley View Drive.  The community stressed the importance of access to the businesses and did not want to see this movement restricted.  ADOT proceeded with design of the third option, leaving the existing left turn movement onto Valley View Drive.

Select image for larger view

ADOT advises drivers to use extra caution, and anticipate brief delays through the half-mile work zone as the project gets under way next week. The safety of workers and drivers is ADOT’s highest priority.

The project is scheduled for completion in November 2009.
Weekly construction eUpdates are available.

After receiving inquiries from citizens and elected officials about automobile accidents on State Route 69 between milepost 290 and 292 near Prescott Valley, AZ, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) conducted two safety studies to determine how best to reduce the occurrence of cross over crashes. The result of the studies lead ADOT to the conclusion that those types of crashes could be reduced by erecting concrete barriers. The Federal Highway Administration concurred with those findings. In ADOT’s meetings with elected officials from Prescott, Prescott Valley and Yavapai County, it was decided that “SR 69” will be made as safe as possible while ensuring the roadway functions as a state highway. ADOT was concerned about collisions reported over a five year study period 126 Total reported collisions 6 Involved fatalities 35 Involved injury or possible injury A total of 31 (25%) collisions involved drivers who were either under the influence, driving too fast, or inattentive Collision Types Rear End Collisions: 37 collisions (29%) Median Crossover Collisions: 23 collisions (18%) Angle/Left Turn Collisions: 22 collisions (17%) Collisions Involving Deer: 22 collisions (17%) Run Off Roadway Collisions: 5 collisions (4%) Other Collisions: 17 collisions (13%) ADOT has chosen a 20” tall, “Half Barrier Median” to mitigate future collisions. The $3.4 million, 6-month long project could begin in the Summer of 2009. The graphics on this page describe the project.

Sign up for Construction Updates!