Month: October 2017

Structure no longer meets minimum standards for bridges

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation is seeking public input on options for the US 60 bridge over Pinto Creek, including the agency’s decision to pursue removing and replacing the structure.

Built in 1949, the 637-foot-long Pinto Creek Bridge, located east of the Valley between Superior and Miami, no longer meets minimum standards set by the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and ADOT’s bridge design guidelines. Though it continues to be safe for traffic, the structure is considered structurally deficient and functionally obsolete.

In accordance with federal law governing proposed transportation projects involving sites with historic significance, ADOT is seeking public input on possible courses of action for the Pinto Creek Bridge. These are:

• Building a new bridge and removing the existing bridge, the action that ADOT and the Federal Highway Administration have decided to pursue
• Rehabilitating the existing bridge
• Building a new bridge and rehabilitating the existing bridge
• Taking no action

The Arizona Federal Highway Administration office has completed a report, Programmatic Section 4(f) Evaluation and Approval for FHWA Projects that Necessitate the Use of Historic Bridges, which is posted at azdot.gov/PintoCreekBridge. Comments can be submitted by email to PintoCreek@azdot.gov, by calling the ADOT Project Information Line at 855.712.8530 or by mail to:

ADOT Communications 1655 W. Jackson St., MD 126F  Phoenix, AZ 85007

Comments must be received by Dec. 8 to be included in the official project record.

Last Saturday, Tom Webb took steps to raise funds and awareness of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park in Tucson, AZ. All funds raised were donated to the organization to help find cures for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. To learn more and get involved, visit www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org.

Katie Garvey – 2017 Tucson Honored Hero

On Sept. 26, at the National Safety Council’s annual Congress & Expo, OSHA Deputy Director of Enforcement Programs Patrick Kapust announced the preliminary list of 10 standards most frequently cited by the agency’s inspectors during Fiscal Year 2017. Fall protection was the most-cited standard for the seventh year in a row, followed by Hazard Communication, and Scaffolding. The only new addition to last year’s list was Fall Protection – Training Requirements, which came in at ninth place. OSHA publicizes the Top 10 list to increase awareness of these standards so employers can take steps to find and fix the hazards to prevent injury or illness.

Top from left: Fall Protection, Hazard Communication, Scaffolding, Respiratory Protection, Lockout/Tagout

Bottom from left: Ladders, Powered Industrial Trucks, Machine Guarding, Fall Protection – Training Requirements, Electrical – Wiring Methods.