Improvements made to various roadways throughout Hopi

TUBA CITY, Ariz.- Last week the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has been putting up streetlights on portions of Highway 160 and State Route 264. According to a John Harper, a representative from ADOT, these streetlights will soon be illuminated. The need to put up streetlights came after reports of accidents along the highway, mainly involving pedestrians.

Many projects are being planned, however, much of the funding to work on roads is not available, and in the future funding will concentrate on maintenance of current roadways.

"Due to less tax revenue from gas tax for the last few years, and money being taken from ADOT to balance the state budget there are less road projects that can be done," said Harper. "The gas tax remains at 15 cents a gallon, and to make roads safer the tax amount should be about 40 cents a gallon in order to make highways safer. Not as many people are driving or buying cars so that generates less revenue for ADOT."

Some projects currently under way are the pavement preservation and passing lane construction from Cedar Ridge to Gap on Highway 89. Another project soon to be finished is the turn lane construction on US 160 near Begashbito.

"These projects were needed to provide relief from the high number of accidents in these areas," said Harper. "These projects are almost complete along with the street lighting project in the Tuba City area. The lighting project is about finished, most of the poles are standing up when they are all put up they will be wired by Arizona Public Service and will have to go through a burn in period where they will be kept on all day and fully functional by mid-August."

Another project that is closer to being done is the Gap-Cedar Ridge project.

"The Gap-Cedar Ridge project is more than 80 percent done," said Harper. "And will be complete by the end of August. Other prospective projects are roadway lighting in Bitter Springs and Tonalea area."

One major project that is due to start in the future is the building of a new bridge at Cameron.

"Some things that need to be decided are whether it will be one or two bridges crossing the Little Colorado," said Harper. "There will also be walkways for tourists as well."

Other improvements include constructing roadway improvements at Junction 64, raised medians, curb and gutter, as well as roadway lighting on that stretch for 2012 and further on are passing lanes south of Grey Mountain.

Harper stated that if there are any concerns about roadways, especially regarding school busses, have them reported by the school to ensure safety.