PHOENIX – The accelerated opening of a short stretch of State Route 24 in Mesa today (Friday, April 1) will allow additional access to an area sports park as well as some residential areas.

The Arizona Department of Transportation has opened a mile-long section of SR 24 as an interim four-lane roadway between Ellsworth and Williams Field roads. 

The extension was completed several months ahead of schedule as part of a partnership between ADOT, the city of Mesa and Legacy Sports USA, which operates Bell Bank Park. The new sports and entertainment complex is located southeast of the new intersection connecting SR 24 and Williams Field Road.

Drivers are now 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 SR 24/Ellsworth interchange.

The new section that opened today is part of ADOT’s ongoing $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 five-mile-long project is scheduled for completion by late summer (2022).

State Route 24 construction is funded in part by Prop 400, a dedicated sales tax approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004. 

The new stretch of SR 24 east of Ellsworth Road provides an additional travel option for drivers who live in neighborhoods that can now be accessed from the new Williams Field Road intersection.

The first stretch of SR 24 between Loop 202 (Santan Freeway) and Ellsworth Road opened to traffic in 2014.

More information about SR 24 is available here.