The bridge's lighting is meant to work "for everyday functional use and special events/holidays," Sundt Construction Vice President Jeff Hamilton told Rocky Mountain Construction last December. That was a road builder describing a bridge built for gatherings as well as traffic.
Its first special event is set for Saturday, Nov. 21. The Town of Gilbert is holding this year's free Gilbert Days Festival on the deck of the new Ocotillo Bridge from 4 to 9 p.m., rain or shine. The Town calls it a chance to be on the bridge deck "before it opens to traffic this December."
The festival is part of something larger. The bridge sits over a section of Gilbert Regional Park that hasn't been built yet. The Town Council is scheduled to talk about how that section gets built on Nov. 17, four days before the festival.
A road built with a park's furniture
From the road, most drivers will see a 406-foot concrete span. Its main section is a cast-in-place, post-tensioned box girder bridge across the 272-acre Gilbert Regional Park, according to Rocky Mountain Construction.
The parts built for people on foot are what make it more than a road. Two prefabricated steel arch bridges run alongside the roadway, one eastbound and one westbound, set 12 feet off the travel lanes. The arches are staggered at different heights, and the tallest reaches 44 feet. Four pedestrian stopping points carry custom steel shade canopies with a Palo Verde theme. Adjustable LED lighting can be changed for holidays and events.
Residents chose that look. In March 2022, the Town put four design concepts to a public vote and received about 3,500 responses. The finalists were Palo Verde and Desert Falls. Nearly 2,900 people voted in the June 2022 runoff, and Palo Verde won. The Town's groundbreaking announcement says the winning design covers the structure over the Chandler Heights Regional Basin and "the future phase of Gilbert Regional Park."
So the design vote was about the park as well as the road. The shade canopies, the arch heights and the event lighting were all chosen for a bridge that people would stand on and look down from, over a park that was still on paper.
What the road half is for
The traffic side of the project is simple. The Ocotillo Road extension runs 0.85 miles from Greenfield Road to Higley Road. It includes three vehicular bridges and one box culvert crossing the RWCD Canal, the East Maricopa Floodway, the Chandler Heights Regional Basin and Queen Creek Wash. Town Council approved the $112 million project in June 2024, and it is funded mainly by a transportation bond.
The gap it closes has a cost you can measure. Rocky Mountain Construction reported that emergency crews now travel an extra mile to get around it. For residents west of the bridge site, response times run six to eight minutes. With the bridge in place, Gilbert Fire & Rescue is aiming to arrive within four minutes on 90 percent of incidents. Planners expect the extension to carry 28,000 vehicles a day by 2040.
At 28,000 cars a day, nobody will be setting up a lawn chair in the travel lanes again. The Town's August update put the project at 75 percent complete, with crews still working on decorative lighting, shade structures and handrails. The Town expects the bridge to open to traffic in December.
The park under the deck is still being decided
Gilbert Regional Park, at 3005 E. Queen Creek Road near Higley and Queen Creek roads, is already a busy place. Its current amenities include basketball and pickleball, six sand volleyball courts, six tennis courts, a splash pad, two playground areas, a seven-acre lake with walking paths, an amphitheater, a 10-acre event lawn, ramadas and the Sister Cities Friendship Garden.
Phase 2 is the land around the bridge. The Town's project page lists a six-field youth softball complex, more playgrounds, a bike park, a skate park, a dog park and disc golf. It also lists road connections to the Ocotillo Bridge and Higley Road, plus parking, lighting and maintenance facilities. The posted construction window runs from Summer 2026 to Summer 2028, with the public opening expected by Summer 2028.
Phase 2 has had an uneven year:
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| June 9, 2026 | Contract for Phase 2 earthwork, grading and underground utilities |
| July 30, 2026 | Town announces a pause on the park project for financial review |
| Sept. 15, 2026 | Council approves a second contract covering the softball complex, the road connection at the bridge, parking and lighting |
| Oct. 20, 2026 | A planned reconsideration of the Sept. 15 vote is taken off the agenda |
| Nov. 17, 2026 | Study session scheduled with parties interested in a public-private partnership |
| Nov. 21, 2026 | Gilbert Days Festival on the bridge deck |
The Town's September release confirmed that construction was underway and that the second contract had been approved. Then the Gilbert Independent reported that Council did not take up its $55.7 million Phase 2 construction approval again on Oct. 20 after Mayor Scott Anderson removed the item from the agenda. According to the paper, Anderson announced a Nov. 17 study session with parties interested in a potential public-private partnership for the park.
That puts the festival in an unusual spot. The bridge was designed for a park that the deck overlooks. Four days before people walk out onto it, Council will discuss how the park below gets built. On Nov. 21, the ground under the canopies will show where Phase 2 stands that week.
Getting onto the deck on Nov. 21
The festival is free because the bridge project partners are covering it. The sponsors are Earnhardt Auto Centers, Haydon Companies and Sundt Construction, the firm building the bridge. The Town still asks for an RSVP through its Eventbrite link.
Getting there takes three steps:
- Park at Gilbert Regional Park, 3005 E. Queen Creek Road.
- Ride the free shuttle that runs between the park lot and the bridge from 4 to 9 p.m.
- Bring a card, since vendors take card payments and there are no ATMs on site.
Two bands are on the bill. Double Deuce, an East Valley rock band that has played Water Tower Plaza, goes on from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Nineball, a Phoenix band founded by former Joe's Grotto sound engineer Marty Lucas, plays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Nineball's set list runs from Phil Collins to Chappell Roan.
Eight food trucks are planned, including Sunshine Funnel Cakes, Craft Cheesecake Parlor, Bahama Bucks, Roxie's Drive N' Diner, The Chicken Joint and Sbuds. The event is alcohol-free. The vendor list can change without notice.
The Town allows a short list of items:
- Chairs or blankets for seating
- Bug spray
- Water in factory-sealed bottles
- Dogs on a leash
A longer list stays home: coolers, backpacks, CamelBaks, wagons, canopies, umbrellas other than chair umbrellas, glass, outside food, drones, frisbees and professional camera rigs with detachable lenses or tripods. Bags and strollers may be searched. The bridge deck is fully paved and accessible, and the Town says it will provide accommodations for guests using wheelchairs.
The rest of Gilbert Days
The bridge is the newest part of a schedule that fills most of November:
- Softball tournaments, Nov. 14 and 15, through the Town's recreation registration.
- Gilbert Days Rodeo, Nov. 19 through 22 at Horseshoe Park & Equestrian Centre, run by the Gilbert Promotional Corporation.
- Gilbert Half Marathon, 10K and 5K, Saturday, Nov. 21, starting and finishing at Verde at Cooley Station.
- Gilbert Days Parade, Saturday, Nov. 21, 8:30 to 11 a.m. on Gilbert Road in the Heritage District, with more than 80 entries. The route closes to traffic that morning.
Saturday, Nov. 21, has the parade in the Heritage District in the morning and the festival on the bridge that evening. With the shuttle from the Gilbert Regional Park lot, you can do both without driving onto the bridge, which is how most people will be crossing it a few weeks later.
If you live in south Gilbert and want to know how the Ocotillo extension and the next phase of Gilbert Regional Park could affect your street, your commute or your plans, Alex LeBouton is glad to go over it with you, with no pressure and no rush. We keep up with these projects because our clients ask about them. Schedule a Consultation whenever it's convenient.
