The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of typical chemical winter maintenance practices on Arizona Department of Transportation pavements. A review of previous studies on the effect of deicing/anti‐icing chemicals did not yield definitive recommendations, especially for DIAICs typically used by ADOT. Researchers conducted a laboratory study evaluating the effects of magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, and distilled water on eight different open‐graded rubber‐modified asphalt concrete mixes using the boiling test. All experimental factors were found to be statistically significant, and the researchers provide recommendations on which DIAICs should be used for different binder and aggregate types.

Land Use and Traffic Congestion is an investigation into the links among land use, travel behavior, and traffic congestion. Researchers focused on four transportation corridors in the Phoenix area: three older neighborhoods with relatively mixed, higher density land use, and one suburban area with lower density but high traffic volumes. The analysis suggested that the higher density corridors exhibited less congestion due to the greater mix of uses, shorter trip lengths, more travel by transit and non-motorized modes, and the presence of a secondary street grid system.

The purpose of this plan is to provide information and recommendations to guide Arizona State Parks and other agencies in Arizona in their management of motorized and nonmotorized trail resources, and specifically to guide the distribution and expenditure of the Arizona Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Fund, trails component of the Arizona Heritage Fund and the Federal Recreational Trails Program. This plan includes both motorized and nonmotorized trail information, public involvement results and recommendations for future actions regarding trails in Arizona.

This planning document details the results of extensive surveys of Arizonans’ thoughts, preferences and priorities regarding trails and off-highway vehicle routes. Throughout the year 2008, staff at Arizona State Parks and faculty at Arizona State University partnered to solicit information from more than 5,500 Arizonans about what types of motorized or non-motorized trails they use, how often they use trails, what they like or don’t like about trails, and what trail managers should focus their time and dollars on to make the trail experience better.

As part of the Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) Program, the Arizona Department of Transportation constructed eight Specific Pavement Studies 9 (SPS‐9) test sections on Interstate 10 near Phoenix is an overlay project and is accordingly given independent analysis and documentation in this report separate from Arizona SPS‐9B projects located on US 93, which were new construction and are documented in a separate report. The SPS‐9A project studied the effect of asphalt specification and mix designs on flexible pavements, specifically comparing Superpave binders with commonly used agency binders. Opened to traffic in 1995, the project was monitored at regular intervals until it was rehabilitated in 2005. Surface distress, profile, and deflection data collected throughout the life of the pavement were used to evaluate the performance of various flexible pavement design features, layer configurations, and thickness. This report documents the analyses conducted as well as practical findings and lessons learned that will be of interest to ADOT.

This study investigated whether highways acted as barriers to gene flow for pronghorn in northern Arizona. DNA samples from 132 pronghorn were analyzed using eight polymorphic microsatellite loci. Samples represented animals living on opposite sides of US Route 89 (US 89) and State Route 64 (SR 64). Two different modeling approaches indicated that both US 89 and SR 64, and to a lesser extent US Route 180 (US 180), acted as barriers to gene flow. The genetic structuring caused by highways, especially across US 89, is consistent with behavioral data that demonstrated pronghorn rarely cross this highway. This study found no evidence of inbreeding or reduced genetic variation in any of the populations examined, but those effects may take longer to appear. Based on these results, the researchers recommend future genetic monitoring of these populations or assessment of genetic variation across highways with larger traffic volumes or longer histories to determine whether the barrier effects documented here lead to loss of genetic diversity.

The purpose of the Arizona Trails 2015 Plan is to gather information and recommendations to guide Arizona State Parks and other land management agencies in the management of motorized and non­‐motorized trails, and guide the distribution and expenditures of the Off‐Highway Vehicle Recreation Fund and the Federal Recreational Trails Program. The Arizona Trails Plan is updated every five years.