State Route 188 Improved for Trips to Roosevelt Lake

It's July and Arizonan's are flocking to water in search of relief from the summer heat. When your trip involves traveling to one of the lakes, rivers and streams in Arizona, getting to your destination safely is important. Through a series of construction projects, the Arizona Department of Transportation is working to improve the route to Roosevelt Lake, a popular site for boating and recreation enthusiasts. Construction of a new eight-mile section of State Route 188 between Devore Wash and Resort Road, about 10 miles north of Globe, is scheduled to be completed in September. The highway, which is being built on a new alignment west of the existing highway, will have more gentle curves and passing lanes. The new route will provide drivers with a single lane in each direction plus eight-foot shoulders on both sides of the highway. Although most of the construction activities are occurring away from traffic, motorists are asked to slow down as they pass through the work zones where the new construction "ties in" with the existing highway. The $25 million project includes an extensive amount of earthwork and drainage improvements with more than two million cubic yards of dirt being excavated and 19,200 feet of drainage pipes being installed along the highway. Six bridges are being built to carry the highway over washes in the area and 72,000 tons of asphalt is being paved to create the new route. Landscaping is another big element of the project. Nearly 1,200 cacti have been removed from the path of the new route and will be replanted along the highway as construction nears completion. Once traffic has been shifted to the new highway, crews will remove the existing highway pavement and seed 187 acres to restore vegetation in the area. The project is the fourth in a series of five construction projects to modernize the highway between Roosevelt Lake and the Globe-Miami area. The fifth and final phase of the SR 188 improvements will begin this summer to improve the segment between Wheatfields and US 60 in Globe. The final phase of the improvement of State Route 188 between Roosevelt Dam and Globe will include widening the roadway to four traffic lanes between the Wheatfields area and State Route 60 and widening the bridge over the Miami Wash. FNF Construction will begin work in late summer on the $9.8 million project and will be finished in early summer 2006. Another segment of State Route 188 between Dryer Drive and Tonto Creek trail will be improved with wider traffic lanes and a left turn lane. Combs Construction will begin work in August on the $398,000 project and will finish in October.