Major Phoenix street could be closed all weekend after big storm

PHOENIX — Part of a major Phoenix thoroughfare could be closed all weekend while crews clean up downed power poles and trees after a big monsoon storm rolled through Thursday.

The Arizona Department of Transportation said the stretch of Shea Boulevard between 44th Street and State Route 51 was expected to be closed for days, along with the northbound SR 51 exit ramp to Shea Boulevard.

Though it wasn’t the hardest hit of the Valley when it came by rain, the area saw some intense winds.

Melinda Smith, who has lived in the area for nearly 25 years, said she had seen bad storms before, but Thursday’s was one of the most intense.

“The wind was really bad for a brief period and then it just rained,” she said. “Everything happened when that wind happened. It happened within 45 minutes here.”

The area received more than a half-inch during the storm. Some areas south of Shea recorded more than an inch.

Arizona Public Service said the wind took down at least 15 power poles and crews could be on-site all weekend cleaning up.

State Route 238 between Maricopa and Gila Bend was also expected to be closed for days because of flooding.

The monsoon storm primarily in north Phoenix — around Lake Pleasant on Interstate 17 — and basically followed the freeway south into the metro area as it grew stronger.

Central Phoenix and the East Valley were the hardest hit by the storm.

The Phoenix Zoo announced Thursday night it would be closed Friday to clean up all of the weather damage.

Downtown Phoenix was hit by 1.22 inches of rain in less than 30 minutes, as of 5:40 p.m. There was also a small tornado spotted south of the area just after 5 p.m.

Flights from Sky Harbor International Airport were grounded at about 5:30 p.m., according to an airport spokeswoman.

Many places got well over an inch of rain.

KTAR News’ Jim Cross contributed to this report.

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