The Arizona Department of Transportation opened a new short stretch of SR 24 in Mesa on April 1, months ahead of schedule, according to department officials.
The accelerated opening allows additional access to the new Bell Bank Park and some residential areas.
The 1-mile section of SR 24 is an interim four-lane roadway between Ellsworth and Williams Field roads, according to ADOT.
The extension was completed several months ahead of schedule as part of a partnership among ADOT, the city of Mesa and Legacy Sports USA, which operates Bell Bank Park, ADOT said. The new sports and entertainment complex is located southeast of the new intersection connecting SR 24 and Williams Field Road.
Drivers are able to access the eastbound side of the new SR 24 section via ramps from the Loop 202-Santan Freeway. Access from Ellsworth Road will be available by next week, when crews open new on- and off-ramps on the east side of the Ellsworth interchange on SR 24, according to ADOT.
The new stretch of SR 24 east of Ellsworth Road also provides an additional travel option for drivers who live in neighborhoods that can now be accessed from the new Williams Field Road intersection.
The new section is part of ADOT’s $77 million project to build SR 24 as a divided four-lane roadway between Ellsworth Road in Mesa and Ironwood Drive in Pinal County. Construction began in November 2020, and the entire 5-mile project is scheduled for completion by late this summer, according to ADOT.
SR 24 construction is funded in part by Prop 400, a dedicated sales tax approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004.
The first stretch of SR 24 between Loop 202-Santan Freeway and Ellsworth Road opened to traffic in 2014.
ADOT opens new SR 24 stretch near Bell Bank Park
SR 24 construction continues with a new stretch having opened April 1. (Courtesy Arizona Department of Transportation)
By Tom Blodgett
Editor, Gilbert
Raised in Arizona, Tom Blodgett has spent more than 30 years in journalism in Arizona and joined Community Impact Newspaper in July 2018 to launch the Gilbert edition. He is a graduate of Arizona State University, where he served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication from 2005-19 and remains editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet.