Arizona DMV

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications If you drove on a state highway in Arizona last weekend, there’s a good chance you saw wildfire prevention messages on overhead signs. The messages read, “Parking in tall brush can start a wildfire,” and, “Don’t drag chains, one spark can start a wildfire.” Some drivers, however, didn’t take … Read more

By John Dougherty / ADOT CommunicationsPeek with us into the cabin of a crane as an operator removes the forms for new bridge piers on Interstate 17 at Pinnacle Peak Road. It’s a snapshot (literally) of a snapshot (metaphorically) of the work going into the massive project to improve this north Valley interchange by widening … Read more

By Dallas Hammit / ADOT State Engineer Over the decades, technology sure has changed but the weather-related issues facing Arizona drivers haven’t. Back in 1973, the Arizona Highway Department launched a dust warning system that included 40 changeable message signs along 81 miles of Interstates 8 and 10 near Casa Grande. The signs were designed to … Read more

By Laurie Merrill /ADOT Communications They say lightning never strikes the same place twice. And that’s why we’re glad a bolt that streaked boldly from the northeastern Arizona sky last Sunday wound up immortalized by a 511 camera and then by ADOT’s social media accounts. This improbable photographic feat was courtesy of a Road Weather … Read more

By Dani Weber / ADOT Communications It’s been little more than a century since the Wright brothers flew the first flying machine just outside of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and modern air travel is almost unrecognizable from its humble roots. Today, ADOT’s Aeronautics Group handles the business end of airport development in Arizona. “The Aeronautics … Read more

By John Halikowski / ADOT Director Does the date July 1, 1974 ring a bell to you? I was in high school and living in the Midwest, and had no idea that date would have significance to me later in life. July 1, 1974, represents the beginning of what is today the Arizona Department of … Read more

By Angela DeWelles / ADOT Communications On July 1, 1974, the Arizona Highway Department officially became the Arizona Department of Transportation … but the real shift involved much more than just a name change. The big reorganization brought with it many new responsibilities for the department, including the addition of several new divisions. Before 1974, … Read more

By Steve Elliott / ADOT Communications Back in the 1930s, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad tracks created a major bottleneck for vehicles using what was then US 87 through Winslow. Enter the Arizona Highway Department, which later became ADOT, and a plan to create a grade separation known as the Winslow Underpass or … Read more