As Mesa residents bid farewell to a placid summer, Ellsworth Road braces for a series of disruptions due to street maintenance, a necessary inconvenience for the promise of smoother travels ahead. The City of Mesa has laid out a segmented plan to tackle the wear and tear of Ellsworth Road, with scheduled lane restrictions rolling out from Ray Road to Elliot Road.
The city plans to execute the maintenance in phases, tailored to skirt around peak hours and minimize motorist headaches, but some delays are inevitable. Starting August 28, the first phase southbound from Elliot to Warner Road will funnel traffic into a single lane until September 2, from the early hours of 6 a.m. until the afternoon's peak of 2 p.m. Notably, relief comes briefly as the Labor Day weekend will see a temporary lift of these restrictions, as reported by the City of Mesa.
Roadwork will continue northbound after Labor Day as phase two narrows traffic to a single lane from Warner to Elliot, scheduled for September 3–5, 2025. Lane restrictions will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. to ease the morning commute. Once phase two is complete, southbound lanes from Warner to Ray will face similar closures for three consecutive days beginning September 8, according to the City of Mesa.
The final stretch of the project is set to bring the longest delay. Northbound lanes from Ray to Warner will be reduced to one lane from September 11 to 15, between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day. Drivers are encouraged to consider alternate routes, such as Signal Butte to Elliot when traveling from the east, or Sossaman to Elliot from the west. While the schedule is in place, city officials note that weather and other unforeseen factors could cause changes.
