Greenway Parkway Bridge Replacement Project Begins

If you live or work near the area of 19th Avenue and Greenway Parkway, you'll want to know about this. A segment of Greenway Parkway from 16th Drive/Beck Ln. to 14th Ave is CLOSED until August 31, 2014. The road is closed while the bridge over Cave Creek Wash is being replaced.

Drivers must seek an alternate route as the road is closed to traffic and pedestrians in both directions. Bell Road and Thunderbird Road are recommended as alternate routes. Additionally, city bus service along Greenway Parkway will be suspended between 19th Ave and 7th Ave during this time.

Construction began on March 3rd and is scheduled to be completed at the end of August 2014.

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Great Bridges of Arizona

Anyone who comes to Arizona will quickly realize that ours is a state of contrasts. We have everything from sand dunes to desert scrub to the rocky Mogollon Rim and the vast, open spaces of northern Arizona.

Our diverse terrain makes for some interesting challenges when trying to build a system of roadways. As engineers overcome these challenges, they do more than just link our cities and towns together, they make some pretty cool bridges, too!

Here are some photos I have taken of great bridges in Arizona:

Burro Creek Bridge

 
The Burro Creek Bridge is a steel arch bridge located on US 93 north of Wickenburg. Built in 1965, it carries southbound traffic about 400 feet above the waters of Burro Creek. A second span was added parallel to the original in 2005.

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4 Historic Steam Locomotives in Arizona

Like many western states, Arizona has a long and storied history with railroads. The majority of the lines built in Arizona were privately run by mining and lumber companies. Many of the locomotives which ran these lines are now preserved in parks and museums around the state.

One website I found mentioned that there are 28 locomotives on display throughout Arizona. This is by no means a complete list, but here are four historic steam locomotives that I have run across in my travels around Arizona.

Southwest Lumber Mills Engine #12 - Flagstaff, AZ

 
At the Pioneer Museum in Flagstaff, Arizona, you can see this historic locomotive on display as you drive by on US 180 to or from the Grand Canyon. Engine #12 was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Pennsylvania in 1929. This standard gauge locomotive has a 2-6-6-0 configuration and was run by the Hammond Lumber Company in Oregon and California.

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Apache Drive In Theater in Globe Closes Down

I am very sad to report that in September of 2013, the Apache Drive-In Theater in Globe, Arizona has closed permanently.

The single-screen theater opened in 1954 and has provided the residents of Globe (population: 7,457) with a place to enjoy movies under the stars for almost 60 years. The final showing was "American Graffiti" on September 28, 2013.

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Grand Canyon University Plans Mesa Campus for 2015

With Arizona's economy still recovering from the Great Recession, many unemployed and under-employed workers are looking to gain a competitive edge by going back to school. This has been good for Grand Canyon University, a for-profit private Christian university located in Phoenix.

While other for-profit schools such as DeVry University and University of Phoenix are feeling the pinch of the economic times, Grand Canyon continues to grow. Now, the university has announced plans to build a satellite campus in Mesa, Arizona which is expected to open in 2015.

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