By Gary Nelson for East Valley Tribune
Faced with the prospect of further explosive growth in the Southeast Valley, Mesa and Queen Creek are hustling to build two major roadways that will connect with a future extension the State Route 24 freeway.
The cities have agreed to design and build Meridian and Signal Butte roads northward from where they now stop in Queen Creek to the freeway, creating two new major north-south routes in the area.
Building the two roads is a cooperative effort not only with Mesa but also with Pinal County and private developers, said Troy White, director of public works in Queen Creek.
Signal Butte Road currently exists in Queen Creek, but it stops at Queen Creek Road, creating about a four-mile gap between there and the future freeway.
So, White said, “The town is working with Fulton Homes to get Signal Butte Road punched through from Queen Creek to Germann, and then the (agreement) we have with Mesa is going to take it from Germann and connect to the State Route 24.”
The Signal Butte extension will cost about $12M. Queen Creek will foot much of the bill initially, with Mesa to reimburse the town no later than 2030.
Meridian Road has even larger gaps. Northbound in Queen Creek, it stops at Combs Road. Under an agreement with Pinal County, “We are going to do all the missing pieces of Meridian Road from Combs to Germann Road,” White said.
Queen Creek and Pinal County are sharing the $8M bill to build Meridian Road from Combs northward to SR24.
White said the agreements with Mesa and Pinal County were relatively easy to negotiate because all three governments recognize the needs of the burgeoning region.
Read more at East Valley Tribune.