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Dyer: Annexations, road construction and what else were top stories for 2020?

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The twin annexations of Arizona State Trust land by the Town of Queen Creek and City of Apache Junction and road construction in the region --- including plans for an interim State Route 24 roadway from Ellsworth Road to Ironwood Drive --- would be my main entries to the top news for 2019.

Am I right about the annexations?

Queen Creek, which annexed nearly 4,150 acres of State Trust Land from Germann Road north to the future alignment of State Route 24 and the Central Arizona Project canal west to Meridian Road, may soon be sharing a border with the City of Apache Junction. The shared border will occur once the municipality, which has received approval from the Arizona State Selection Board, annexes 6,687 acres south of Elliot Road, west of the Central Arizona Project canal and north of where SR24 is to be constructed.

Am I correct about the State Route 24 plans? Driving east on U.S. Highway 60 at the end of a work day, the off-ramp at Ironwood Drive is sometimes backed up to the freeway because of commuters heading home. And anyone who has driven Ellsworth Road from or to the Town of Queen Creek knows of the traffic congestion there.

An east-west State Route 24 will get traffic from Queen Creek quickly to and from the Loop 202 Santan Freeway.

Check out my cover story in this issue starting on page 6. Do you agree with the top 10 list? What do you think were the top stories in 2019? Where should Apache Junction and Queen Creek go from here? E-mail letters to the editor with a photo of you for the online posting and possible print in the newspaper.

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