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Navigating the SR-24 & Ellsworth Road: A Commuter’s Guide for Queen Creek Residents If your Queen Creek commute involves SR-24 or Ellsworth Road, there is genuine road construction news to know about, along with a couple of alternate routes most people do not think to use until traffic forces the issue. SR-24, known as the Gateway Freeway, is currently a five-mile interim roadway running between Loop 202 and Ironwood Drive north of Queen Creek. It gives Queen Creek and San Tan Valley residents their preferred freeway connection into the broader Phoenix metro through Loop 202, and it has become one of the defining pieces of infrastructure for commuters in the area. The freeway is set to get meaningfully wider. ADOT completed the design phase in spring 2026 to widen SR-24 between Loop 202 and Ironwood Drive, adding two general purpose lanes in each direction between Loop 202 and Williams Field Road, and one general purpose lane in each direction between Williams Field Road and Ironwood Drive. Construction is currently planned to begin in late 2026, which should bring real relief to a corridor that has outgrown its current capacity. Looking further ahead, a potential extension of SR-24 from Ironwood Drive to US-60 falls within Pinal County's jurisdiction, and the county is leading a study to evaluate it with ADOT's participation. This extension is not currently funded, so there is no set timeframe for when, or if, it will move forward, and it is worth treating as a longer-term possibility rather than a near-term certainty. Ellsworth Road is seeing its own widening work in more than one stretch. The City of Mesa began widening Ellsworth Road to three lanes in each direction between Ray Road and Germann Road starting in January 2026. Separately, Queen Creek and the Maricopa County Department of Transportation have partnered on an 18 million dollar widening project further south, between Empire Boulevard and Cloud Road, addressing congestion closer to the heart of Queen Creek itself. For drivers who want an alternative to the heavily traveled Ellsworth corridor, Meridian Road and Ironwood Road both provide north-south connections to SR-24. Meridian Road's connection from Combs Road to SR-24 was completed in 2023 specifically to give drivers a secondary route and relieve pressure on Ellsworth and Ironwood. Road access is genuinely worth factoring into a home search if your commute relies on SR-24 during peak hours. Homes closer to Meridian, Ironwood, or Signal Butte roads may offer a less congested alternative to the Ellsworth corridor, especially while widening projects remain under construction over the next couple of years. Commute matters as much as square footage for a lot of Queen Creek buyers. I factor road access and ongoing infrastructure projects into neighborhood recommendations for every client I work with. Dawn Forkenbrock, Queen Creek Realtor w/ Real Broker

When a home for sale in Mesa AZ in THIS good, an assignment like this is easy. DM to schedule a tour. • 1558 Sq Ft • 3 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms • New Water Heater (2026), New AC (2025) & New Roof (2022) • $385,000 • Gated Community www.altamesatownhouse.com Dawn Forkenbrock, Mesa Realtor w/ Real Broker #MesaArizonaRealEstate #TownhouseinMesa #MesaAZ #AltaMesa #EastMesa

Top 5 Upgrades That Deliver the Highest ROI for Queen Creek & San Tan Valley Sellers Not every dollar spent preparing a home for sale comes back the same way. The 2025 Cost vs. Value Report, published annually by Zonda Media, breaks down exactly which projects pay for themselves in the Phoenix market, and which ones do not. Here are the five worth prioritizing before you list in Queen Creek or San Tan Valley. Garage door replacement tops the list. It costs an average of $5,033 in the Phoenix market and returns $12,495 in resale value, a cost recouped of 248.3 percent, the highest of any project tracked. In communities across Queen Creek and San Tan Valley where the garage often sits front and center on the elevation, a fresh garage door can carry more visual weight than almost any other single improvement. Steel entry door replacement comes in second, costing $2,394 and returning $4,645, or 194.1 percent. Like the garage door, it sits at the intersection of low cost and high visibility, and a fresh, well-fitted front door signals a well-cared-for home before a buyer even walks inside. Manufactured stone veneer ranks third, costing $12,190 and returning $19,613, or 160.9 percent, a return that runs especially strong in Southwestern markets thanks to how well the material pairs with the stucco, tile, and desert-toned architecture common throughout Queen Creek and San Tan Valley. Vinyl siding replacement ranks fourth, costing $15,343 and returning $19,828, or 129.2 percent, a strong return where it applies even though it is less common on Arizona's stucco-dominant homes. Rounding out the top five, a minor midrange kitchen remodel, refacing cabinets, updating hardware, replacing countertops, and installing a modern range or cooktop, costs $28,333 and returns $30,899, or 109.1 percent. It is the only interior project in the Phoenix top five, and it works because it is targeted rather than a full gut renovation. Not every project pays back the same way. Nationally, a major upscale kitchen remodel typically returns well under half its cost, and a primary suite addition or large room addition often returns even less. These can still be worthwhile for a homeowner planning to enjoy the space for years, but they are better justified by lifestyle value than resale math, and over-improving relative to a home's neighborhood tends to backfire regardless of the price tag. Ready to find out which of these projects makes the most sense for your specific Queen Creek or San Tan Valley home before you list? I would love to walk through it with you. Dawn Forkenbrock, East Valley Realtor w/ Real Broker