The Beeline Highway will close three nights this week between Payson and the Valley as crews continue to repair a road damaged by a landslide.

View Valley traffic conditions

The highway, also known as state Route 87, will close Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights in the Slate Creek area. The road will close at 8 p.m. each day and reopen at 6 a.m. the next day.

Click on the graphic to see a map of road work in the East Valley

Drivers bound for Payson during those times have two options:

Take U.S. 60 and state Route 188 through Globe, or use Interstate 17 and state Route 160 through Camp Verde.

The Arizona Department of Transportation closed the Beeline after a March 27 landslide between Sunflower and Rye made the road undrivable in some places. It reopened April 21, but only with one lane in each direction where crews are trying to stabilize embankments.

ADOT will impose a new restriction Monday, prohibiting any vehicles wider than 12 feet through the area. That restriction should last through Memorial Day.

The nighttime closures should speed the repairs, ADOT spokesman Bill Williams said.

"It's easier if they have total access but we're also able to pull double shifts for a few days to accomplish more work," Williams said.

He couldn't predict when ADOT can reopen the highway to two lanes in each direction. Crews are still studying geological issues to know how to best stabilize embankments on a nearly one-mile stretch. Some hills haven't given way yet, but Williams said it appears future landslides are possible if ADOT doesn't stabilize other areas.

ADOT also needs to rebuild part of the highway.

LIGHT-RAIL WORK RESTRICTIONS EASE

Drivers will see fewer restrictions on the nearly one-mile stretch of Main Street in Mesa where Metro light-rail construction has triggered recent blockages.

Roadway construction has ended and barricades are down, giving drivers access to all the lanes in the area.

Metro still has to block lanes at times, but the bulk of the construction is now on top of the tracks and at a light-rail station.

The first train should roll into Mesa in June or July as testing begins there. The 20-mile, $1.4 billion Valley system is set to begin carrying passengers Dec. 27.

ALT-FUELS WAY TO SAVE TIME, MONEY

There wasn't any sympathy for Judith O'Connor in my e-mail box or on my voicemail last week.

O'Connor is a former Queen Creek teacher who switched jobs because skyrocketing gas prices have made her 30-mile commute from Mesa too expensive for her. She appeared in a Tribune story that ran recently about the impact today's gas prices are having on people's lives.

Many readers told me their commutes are far longer than O'Connor's and some criticized the vehicle choices of others mentioned in the story. And several pointed out how they've made their commutes quicker and cheaper by switching to alternative-fuel or hybrid vehicles.

Compared to other states, Arizona offers relatively few economic incentives to help offset the cost of converting personal vehicles to use cleaner alternative fuels, such as natural gas. But like many metropolitan areas, those who have made the switch get to use the carpool lanes, even when driving alone.

That was enough for Gilbert resident Larry Potthoff to make the switch more than 10 years ago. When his company moved its office from Mesa to downtown Phoenix, Potthoff was looking at an extra two hours a day on the road.

"I couldn't afford that, my wife would kill me," he said.

That's when he found a program that would help pay to convert a 1998 Ford Expedition to run on natural gas. By 2000, the program was expanded with lucrative tax credits for those who bought alternative fuels cars. Unfortunately, the law didn't cap costs and led to the still infamous alt-fuels scandal that cost taxpayers about $167 million.

Which brings us back to the likely reason Arizona doesn't offer many incentives to get people to switch from gasoline-powered vehicles.

"We can't get legislators here to touch it with a 10-foot pole because of the fall out from 2000," said Dave Clement, who owns CNG Services of Arizona.

His company installs and services natural gas fueling stations in private homes. The set-up essentially connects with nearby underground natural gas lines just like a household appliance. His company services around 400 units throughout the state right now. Since natural gas is actually a gas and not a liquid, it's hard to compare it costwise to gasoline. But Clement figures his customers are paying the equivalent of $1.20 per gallon for their fuel right now.

Potthoff spends about $120 a month on natural gas for his vehicle and drives about 1,500 miles. He said he's made back his initial investment to convert the SUV and install the filling equipment at his home.

CLOSURES & RESTRICTIONS

Queen Creek Road is closed from Arizona Avenue to McQueen Road while crews expand the road to six lanes through Sept. 28.

Restrictions will remain while crews continue working along Sossaman Road between Chandler Heights and Riggs roads to complete a new sewer line.