The accelerated opening of a short stretch of State Route 24 in Mesa will allow additional access to an area sports park as well as some residential areas.

The Arizona Department of Transportation on April 1 opened the mile-long section of SR24 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 southeast of the new intersection connecting SR24 and Williams Field Road, according to a release.

Drivers are now able to access the eastbound side of the new SR24 section via ramps from Loop 202 Santan Freeway. Access from Ellsworth Road will be available when crews open new on- and off-ramps on the east side of the SR 24/Ellsworth interchange.

The new section that opened April 1 is part of ADOT’s ongoing $77 million project to build SR24 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-long project is scheduled for completion by late summer 2022.

SR24 construction is funded in part by Proposition 400, a dedicated sales tax approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004.

The new stretch of SR24 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 SR24 between Loop 202 Santan Freeway and Ellsworth Road opened to traffic in 2014.

More information about SR24 is available at azdot.gov/projects/central-district-projects under “SR 24 Interim Phase II: Ellsworth Rd to Ironwood Dr.”