FNF Construction Inc. is targeting early 2027 to complete the Arizona Department of Transportation's (ADOT) $80.6 million U.S. 93 Cane Springs Improvement Project north of Wikieup in Mohave County.
The project is widening a 4-mi. stretch of U.S. 93 between mileposts 106 and 110 from a two-lane, undivided asphalt highway to a four-lane divided roadway. The improvements are designed to increase capacity, improve traffic flow and upgrade drainage along a major route connecting Phoenix with Las Vegas and California.
ADOT awarded FNF the contract in December 2024 and construction began in January 2025. Federal Highway Administration and state funds are financing the project. AECOM designed the improvements.
The work includes two new bridges over Cane Springs Wash, demolition of the existing bridge at milepost 109, installation of drainage and sediment-control facilities and reconstruction of the intersection turnout at Upper Trout Creek Road.
“The old bridge design includes a steep incline on the northbound lanes, causing backup due to commercial semi-trucks,” FNF Senior Project Manager Jeremy Sheets told Construction Equipment Guide. “[We're improving the situation] by creating a divided highway, as well as reducing road grade.”
Addressing Safety, Construction Challenges
The original 98-ft.-long bridge was completed in 1935. Although it remained structurally sound, its narrow lanes and steep approach created challenges for motorists, particularly commercial truck drivers.
“When they did the studies in the wash basin for Cane Springs, there were several drill sites taken many years ago,” Stacy Hadley, an FNF project engineer, told Construction Equipment Guide. “When working with our subcontractor (Michels) for the 20 drilled shafts for NB/SB (72-in. and 66-in.) bridges, there were numerous times the drill crews hit obstructions that could not have been known, which slowed production down. Different bits had to be utilized than originally planned.
“A major obstacle that hit us was Mother Nature. You are already working in a riverbed, so you take precautions…It felt like we downloaded every form of weather alert system to prepare for flash flooding and still didn't get notices of all the flooding from storms that were miles away. At one point, the river flow was so intense that it almost eroded the existing U.S. 93 away, which would have closed the roadway down. Luckily, FNF was able to reinforce the embankment with equipment as to remedy that.”
The replacement bridges and wider highway are intended to address longstanding safety concerns on U.S. 93, including narrow lanes, limited sight distances, restricted passing opportunities and insufficient areas for disabled vehicles.
“While it was near its end, it still had no structural issues,” Hadley said. “However, with the narrow lanes and safety of the traveling public, the divided new four lanes of asphalt and two new bridges, we hope to never see it rebuilt in our lifespans. Asphalt will need to be updated in roughly 10 to 15 years. The bridges should last well into 100 years.”
“The advantages that the traveling public will have are a safely separated and divided major highway that connects Phoenix to Las Vegas and California is more than words can say,” Hadley said. “U.S. Highway 93 is commonly referred to as one of the deadliest highways in the U.S. Past narrow lanes, no passing zones, limited sight distances and safety areas for broken-down vehicles and disabled drivers have been major issues of the past.”
Roadway, Drainage Improvements
FNF used three asphalt mixes — stone matrix asphalt (SMA), 416 and 409 — over an 8-in. base course. The finished roadway design includes two 12-ft. lanes in each direction, a 4-ft. inside shoulder and a 10-ft. outside shoulder.
SMA, a gap-graded asphalt mix, is designed to withstand heavy traffic loads, resist rutting and perform under severe weather conditions.
“This is a high-performance, gap-graded, HTO mix asphalt designed to resist deep ruts, heavy traffic loads and severe weather,” Sheets said.
“SMA is a new product being used by Arizona,” Hadley said. “It replaces the older Asphaltic Concrete Friction Course [top rubber coat on asphalt.] This newer SMA makes the asphalt last longer through wear and helps control a smoother ride.”
The two new lanes and a 100-ft.-wide median were constructed west of the existing highway. FNF built the southbound lanes first, then shifted traffic onto the completed roadway to reconstruct the northbound lanes along the existing alignment.
“The plan was to construct the southbound lanes first and shift traffic onto the newly constructed roadway,” Sheets said. “Once traffic was moved, we would reconstruct the northbound lanes along the existing two-lane U.S. 93 alignment. Excavation began at the north end of the project limits and progressed through varying terrain conditions. The materials encountered consisted primarily of sand, gravel and rock.
Crews excavated and placed more than 850,000 cu. yds. of embankment material. Roadway excavation totaled 753,901 cu. yds., with another 63,098 cu. yds. of over-excavation and 48,000 cu. yds. of drainage excavation.
Native plants and cacti were salvaged before excavation, with some cacti replanted in the median to help control erosion and preserve the area's appearance. Median drainage depths range from 4 to 9 ft.
Drainage work included 5,587 linear ft. of corrugated metal pipe storm drain, 24 catch basin drain inlets, nine down drains and eight catch basins.
Equipment used for drainage operations included Cat 340 and 325 excavators, a Cat CB2.5 utility compactor, a Cat 415 Gannon tractor, a Cat 420 backhoe tractor and a Cat 956 front loader.
Two New Bridges
The new northbound and southbound steel-girder bridges over Cane Springs Wash are approximately 385 ft. long. Each is a three-span structure designed to carry two lanes of traffic.
FNF demolished the existing bridge in July 2026, completing the work in five days.
“The plan was to 'hammer' the center span, then the two outer, followed by the support columns,” Sheets said.
A Cat 336 excavator equipped with a hydraulic hammer worked alongside a Cat 325 excavator during demolition. The steel from the demolished bridge was recycled.
Construction of the replacement bridges involved four structure crews working between the two sites. The drilled columns extend 65 to 80 ft. below ground.
“Once the columns were drilled and poured,” Sheets said, “four structure crews worked between both bridges, allowing for subcontractors to do their work. The bridge columns were drilled to ranges of 65 to 80 ft. deep. Concrete beams with a strength of 9,000 psi, five per span, were placed, followed by a monolithic deck pour.”
Crews used 4,500-psi concrete for the bridge decks, which average 8.5 in. thick. The concrete was wet-cured and reached the required strength in approximately 22 days. A Bidwell screed and 35/45 concrete pumps were used during placement.
From installation of the columns, girders and abutments through completion of the deck pours, each bridge took approximately three months to construct.
Final Work, Project Team
Reconstruction of the Upper Trout Creek Road intersection turnout was completed in three phases over three months beginning in April 2026. The work involved excavating 25,000 cu. yds. of material, placing Class II aggregate base, installing concrete Ford walls and paving with 409 asphalt and 3,000-psi concrete.
After nearly 21 months of construction, FNF's grading and paving crews and four structure crews have completed the bridges, drainage culverts and structures, embankment excavation and grading, paving, guardrails and new right-of-way fencing. Remaining work includes road signs, lane striping, landscaping, erosion stabilization and installation of a safety barrier.
“The main challenge of this project would be weather, material changes and location of the project,” Sheets said. “Having a plan and executing it helped solve many of the challenges. Maintaining a strict, well-planned schedule allowed the work to flow smoothly and ensured tasks were planned ahead of time.”
Worker safety also has required attention to local wildlife.
“Wikieup has some of the highest densities of rattlesnakes in Arizona,” Sheets said. “This was regularly discussed in our morning Tool Box talks as a safety concern, and the project did experience approximately 15 contacts with snakes.”
Sheets leads the project with assistance from Martin Ramirez-Sponcer, Project Engineers Stacy Hadley and Chris Grade and Project Superintendent Alan Adcox. On busy days, approximately 65 FNF employees and more than 30 subcontractor employees work on-site.
Major subcontractors include AZ Highway for guardrail, Precision Aggs for concrete supply, FPS Civil for landscaping, T-PAC for bridge girders, Michels Drilling for bridge columns, WSP for calcium sulfoaluminate cement and Paradise for steel rebar.
New materials delivered to the project include 45,000 cu. yds. of aggregate base course, 76,000 tons of asphalt, 9,804 cu. yds. of concrete and 5,793 linear ft. of guardrail. FNF also recycled the existing asphalt into a new asphalt mix.
FNF buys and rents equipment from Empire Cat, Pacwest Rentals, Ecco Equipment, Mertens Rentals and RDO (John Deere).
