ADOT opens 4-mile State Route 24 extension in far East Valley

PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Transportation opened a new four-mile stretch of State Route 24 in the East Valley on Thursday.

The extension between Williams Field Road and Ironwood Drive along the Maricopa and Pinal county line was constructed as a four-lane expressway, according to a press release.

As an expressway, that stretch of road has a speed limit of 45 mph and includes traffic signals.

There are intersections at Williams Field Road, Signal Butte Road, Meridian Road and Ironwood Drive with on- and off-ramp connections at Ellsworth Road.

Construction on the $77 million extension began in November 2020 and finished on schedule, ADOT said.

“Getting us to this point has taken a great deal of partnership between ADOT, the city of Mesa, the Maricopa Association of Governments and its member communities, as well as the Federal Highway Administration and Pinal County,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said.

John Bullen, the transportation funding policy program manager with the Maricopa Association of Governments, said the new stretch will support current traffic in a growing economic and residential area.

He also noted that future expansion will be needed as more businesses move to and homes are built in the far East Valley.

“With additional growth with additional homes, that’s when we’re going to need to look at adding that third lane and making it a fully unlimited access facility,” Bullen said.

Work on the freeway remains ongoing as the Signal Butte Road interchange is scheduled to open in 2023. It will connect SR 24 to an extended Signal Butte Road.

In the interim, drivers who exit SR 24 at Williams Field Road can access Signal Butte Road north of the recently finished expressway.

Colton Krolak contributed to this report. 

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