The Ganado-Burnside Area is a rural community located on the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona. Ganado was formally established in 1901 as the location for a Presbyterian Church Mission, a school and hospital. Later the community served as a center to distribute various types of Bureau of Indian Affairs services. Today, the community area serves as a major center for housing, education, health and government operations. Also in the Burnside area, the Ganado School District recently established a new high school and sports venue to accommodate track and field, baseball, and basketball activities.

There are four main roadway corridors that intersect the study area: State Route 264, US Route 191, Navajo Route 27 and Navajo Route 15. There are also county gravel roads and private and community dirt roads that intersect SR 264, the main traffic corridor. Within these routes there is substantial multimodal activity generated from the area schools, medical facilities, transit operations, government entities, utility providers and social programs. The principal focus of this study project is to address the most critical transportation planning needs identified by the Ganado Chapter and Apache County. This will include, but is not limited to, a comprehensive needs analysis of multimodal movements and traffic circulation as well as safety issues for the project area corridors. The major product of the study will be a final report, which contains a Plan for Improvements. Taking into consideration received public input, the Plan will span over five-, 10- and 20-year periods, incorporating both roadways and the multimodal needs of the area.

The Ganado-Burnside Area Traffic Circulation Study will also be conducted according to a cooperative planning process that involves stakeholders that include public agency staff, elected tribal officials and tribal community members. Throughout the study, information will be presented to and solicited from stakeholders through individual interviews and to the general public through public meetings and other means of communication.

The Arizona Statewide Transportation Improvement Program identifies statewide priorities for transportation projects. It is a compilation of projects utilizing various federal funding programs and includes highway projects on the cities, counties, and state highway systems, as well as projects in the National Parks, US Forest Service, and Indian Reservation Roads. This is a four-year project list compiled in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Council of Governments, and the Metropolitan Planning Organizations. Projects are selected for inclusion in the STIP based on adopted procedures and criteria.

A statistical review of the motor vehicle crashes in the State of Arizona for each calendar year. The results are compiled from Arizona Traffic Accident Reports submitted to the Arizona Department of Transportation by state, county, city, tribal, and other law enforcement agencies. Motor Vehicle Crash Facts is an annual report published by the Traffic Engineering Group of the Arizona Department of Transportation. In order to provide the most current information, preliminary data is utilized when necessary. For this reason, previous or future reports may differ slightly and users are encouraged to refer to the latest issue of Motor Vehicle Crash Facts.

The Transit Programs and Grants group within the Multi-Modal Planning Division of the Arizona Department of Transportation is a ten member team that is responsible for administering Federal Transit Administration grants and programs that enhance mobility options in the non-urban areas of the State of Arizona. Transit has five main areas of focus: Rural Transit, Coordinated Mobility, Planning, Safety and Grant Administration.

Project Summary

Passing and climbing lanes provide additional lanes for vehicles to safely pass other vehicles while maintaining speeds. Implementing passing and climbing lane projects provides traffic operational and safety benefits at a cost that is far less than fully widening a highway. In an effort to enhance safety and mobility on Arizona's roadways, the Arizona Department of Transportation is currently updating the 2003 Passing and Climbing Lanes Prioritization Study. This update intends to further refine the identification and prioritization methodology previously utilized and to develop a prioritized list of candidate locations that would provide the most benefit to the traveling public.
Study Objectives

    Review previous studies and research current best practices.
    Analyze the safety and performance benefits of passing/climbing lanes constructed since the previous study.
    Develop a revised methodology and ranking criteria.
    Obtain feedback from ADOT District Engineers and other stakeholders, such as rural COGs and MPOs.
    Develop a new prioritized list of candidate passing/climbing lane projects. 
 

This Plan defines visionary, yet pragmatic, investment choices Arizona will make over the next 25 years to maintain and improve its multimodal transportation system. The Plan is not rigid or fixed. It is part of a continuous process of planning, implementation, operation, and preservation and will evolve over time to reflect and be responsive to future changes in needs, resources, and priorities. This Plan is strategic in nature, examining investment types for ADOT’s capital program; it does not examine nor recommend any specific projects.