Bell Road is a major east-west arterial road in the northern

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, metropolitan area. It is one of the few roadways to cross the

Agua Fria River The Agua Fria River (Spanish for "cold water") is a long intermittent stream which flows generally south from east-northeast of Prescott in the U.S. state of Arizona. Prescott draws much of its municipal water supply from the upper Agua Fria ...

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 Maricopa County () is a county in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and ...

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 Interstate 17 (I-17) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Arizona. I-17's southern terminus lies in Phoenix, at I-10/US 60 and its northern terminus is in Flagstaff, at I-40. Most of I-17 is kn ...

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. East of 66th Street, Bell Road takes a southeasterly bend and, at its intersection with Scottsdale Road, becomes

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

Boulevard, named in recognition of the architect and designer. This alignment was built in the mid-1970s during the construction of the

CAP A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

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 McDowell Mountain Range ( Yavapai: Wi:kajasa) is located about twenty miles north-east of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, and may be seen from most places throughout the city. The range is composed of miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch ...

, 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

Scottsdale Airport Scottsdale Airport is a municipal airport located 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 t ...

Turf Paradise Race Course Turf Paradise is a thoroughbred and quarter horse racetrack located at 19th Avenue and Bell Road, in the Deer Valley, Phoenix, Deer Valley section of Phoenix, Arizona. It opened in 1956. Turf Paradise is typically open for racing from early Nove ...

Arrowhead Towne Center Arrowhead Towne Center, often referred to by locals as Arrowhead Mall, is a super-regional shopping mall located in Glendale, Arizona (west suburban Phoenix). The mall is owned by Macerich & GIC Private Limited. The mall features Macy's, Dilla ...

and the

Peoria Sports Complex Peoria Sports Complex is a baseball complex located in the Peoria suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, United States, near Peoria's main shopping district on Bell Road. It consists of the main baseball stadium (Peoria Stadium) and 12 practice fields. I ...

. Bell Road also forms the northern boundary of the original town site of Surprise.

Major intersections

References

{{reflist Transportation in Maricopa County, Arizona Surprise, Arizona Transportation in Phoenix, Arizona Transportation in Scottsdale, Arizona Streets in Arizona