Lane restriction on SR 66 in Williams required for pavement preservation

WILLIAMS — Restrictions will be in place beginning Monday, April 13 on a section of State Route 66 between Bearizona Boulevard and Pine Street in Williams as ADOT crews begin construction on a roadway improvement project on behalf of the city.

The work will be conducted during daylight hours only and is anticipated to be completed by early summer. The roadway improvement consists of milling and replacing the existing pavement, applying new roadway surface sealant, striping and markers, and is scheduled weekly from Monday-Friday during daylight hours only. No weekend or holiday work is anticipated.

During construction, traffic may be reduced to one lane of travel, with flaggers in place. Drivers can expect delays and are recommended to allow for extra travel time while construction is underway. Access for businesses and adjacent properties will be maintained at all times during the roadway construction.

Accident Involving Flagstaff Police Cruiser

FLAGSTAFF — The Flagscanner web site reported that around 6:30 P.M on the 7th, a Flagstaff Police Officer was involved in a collision near Black Barts RV Park, 2760 E Butler Ave.

They were attempting to obtain more information, but Christopher Yazzie commented:

Cruiser was going eastbound, and the blue small SUV looked like it was hit on the driver side. The front of the Flag PD cruiser was smashed. From the damage it looked like the collision was at lower speeds around 30 Mph. Traffic was allowed to pass between the two cars involved.

Kaibab National Forest seeks comments on adding camping corridors

WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest is seeking public comments on an Environmental Assessment released today that analyzes the potential effects of adding camping corridors and making other changes to the transportation system of the Williams and Tusayan ranger districts.

The document and background information are available on the Kaibab National Forest website at http://go.usa.gov/kpQV. The 30-day comment period begins today and runs through May 11.

Specifically, the Kaibab National Forest is proposing to:

  • Designate approximately 291 miles of camping corridors along all or portions of several system roads on both districts. The corridors would extend 200 feet from either side of the centerline of the road, except where limited by topographical factors, resource concerns or private land.
  • Add 15 spur roads to the open road system on the Tusayan district. These spurs total 1.3 miles and would provide access to areas historically used for motorized camping.
  • Close approximately 9 miles of currently open roads across the two districts.
  • Add approximately 16 miles of roads to the open road system across the two districts. This includes 12 miles of formerly closed roads and 4 miles of user-created routes.
  • Develop an adaptive management strategy for making future changes to the transportation system for the two districts based on changing needs and/or new information.

Besides the proposed action, the Environmental Assessment also analyzes the potential effects of other alternatives such as varying corridor widths.

The proposed action and alternatives were all developed based on several years of monitoring following implementation of the Travel Management Rule on the two districts, which included documenting public concerns about recreational access and other issues.

Additional information and methods to submit comments are available at http://go.usa.gov/kpQV

Safety improvement project scheduled on SR 87 north of Strawberry next week

The Arizona Department of Transportation will remove dead trees from the right-of-way along a nine-mile segment of State Route 87 next week in both directions (mileposts 276 to 284), approximately six miles north of Strawberry.

Work will begin on Monday, April 13 through Thursday, April 16 between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day.

Drivers can expect delays of up to 15 minutes to allow a safe work zone for maintenance crews to remove fallen trees from the roadway. Flaggers will guide traffic through the work zone.

In the interest of safety, motorists are urged not to stop in the tree-cutting areas to pick up wood.

ADOT advises drivers to proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.

SACO Act to terminate federal employees who give false testimony

112_rp_al_5_brooks_moWASHINGTON — It seems that Eric Holder may leave a legacy in Washington after all. In honor of his testimony and the testimony of the likes of Lois Lerner, Representative Mo Brooks [R-AL-5] has submitted H.R. 1535. It is referred to as the Safeguarding America’s Congressional Oversight Act or the SACO Act and the purpose of the act is to terminate any Federal employee who refuses to answer questions or gives false testimony in a congressional hearing.

Apparently perjury and contempt of Congress is insufficient.

The legislation, if passed, would allow Congress to terminate a federal employee if three-fourths of the congressional body receiving the testimony finds that they received false testimony from the witness.

The termination can occur if the witness refuses to answer a question at a congressional hearing after being granted immunity. The bill also allows termination if the witness does not “…answer questions specifically, directly, and narrowly relating to his or her official duties,…”

Special event requires brief closures of US 60 and US 93 in Wickenburg

Due to a special event, the junction of US 60 and US 93 at the south roundabout in downtown Wickenburg will close briefly from 11:30 a.m. to noon Monday, April 13 and again from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 17.

The closures will allow more than 200 horses and riders participating in the 69th annual Desert Caballeros trail ride to cross US 60 the highway safely.

What to expect during the closures:

  • Eastbound US 60 will be closed at milepost 110 prior to Tegner Street.
  • Westbound US 60 will be closed at milepost 110 prior to the Hassayampa River Bridge.
  • Traffic destined for northbound US 93 will be stopped at the westbound US 60 closure.
  • Southbound US 93 will be closed at the south roundabout prior to milepost 200.
  • The Wickenburg Police Department will enforce the closures and provide traffic control.
  • Drivers will need to wait for horses to pass through, no alternate routes suggested