Bell Road is a major east-west arterial road in the northern
Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area.
It is one of the few roadways to cross the
Agua Fria River in the northwestern part of the metro area, providing a vital link between the growing suburb of
Surprise with Phoenix. As a result, the portion of Bell Road passing through Surprise and
Sun City is the busiest arterial road in the state of Arizona.
The road is named for farmer Harvey Bell, who, together with James Shea, formed in 1916 the Paradise Verde Irrigation District.
Route description
The street lies at the 17000 North alignment of the
Maricopa County grid system.
At its eastern terminus, the main segment of Bell Road, approximately in length, begins at the corporate boundaries of Phoenix and Scottsdale at its intersection with Scottsdale Road. Traveling west, the road intersects
State Route 51 and
Interstate 17 in Phoenix, the
Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway) in
Peoria, and
Grand Avenue and
Loop 303
Arizona State Route 303 (SR 303) or Loop 303, also known as the Bob Stump Memorial Parkway (formerly the Estrella Freeway), is a freeway that serves the west part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. The freeway, originally a two-lane ...
in Surprise. West of the Beardsley Canal, the roadway curves around the
White Tank Mountain Regional Park
The White Tank Mountain Regional Park is a large regional park located in west-central Maricopa County, Arizona. Encompassing of desert and mountain landscape, it is the largest regional park in the county. The bulk of the White Tank Mountain ...
, becoming the
Sun Valley Parkway
Many arterial roads in the Phoenix metropolitan area have the same name in multiple cities or towns. Some roads change names or route numbers across town borders, resulting in occasional confusion. For example, the road known as Apache Boulevard ...
.
East of 66th Street, Bell Road takes a southeasterly bend and, at its intersection with Scottsdale Road, becomes
Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, named in recognition of the architect and designer. This alignment was built in the mid-1970s during the construction of the
CAP canal, which Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard parallels.
In this area of
Scottsdale, a non-contiguous segment of Bell Road approximately long exists north of Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, including an intersection with the Pima Freeway (Loop 101).
East of the
McDowell Mountains, the Bell Road alignment forms the northern boundary of the city of
Fountain Hills
Fountain Hills is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Known for its impressive fountain, once the tallest in the world, it borders the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and Scottsdale. The ...
.
Prominent locations on or near Bell Road include the
Scottsdale Municipal Airport
Scottsdale Airport is north of downtown Scottsdale, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, but Scottsdale Airport is SDL to the FAA and SCF to the IAT ...
,
Turf Paradise,
Arrowhead Towne Center and the
Peoria Sports Complex. Bell Road also forms the northern boundary of the original town site of Surprise.
Major intersections
References
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Transportation in Maricopa County, Arizona
Surprise, Arizona
Transportation in Phoenix, Arizona
Transportation in Scottsdale, Arizona
Streets in Arizona