Just wrote this for Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_Highway_(Arizona)

The Bush Highway begins at the northern end of Power Road in Mesa, Arizona and extends northeasterly through the Tonto National Forest, over the Arizona Canal, past the Granite Reef Dam, along the Salt River near its confluence with the Verde River, past Red Mountain, the Stewart Mountain Dam and Saguaro Lake, to connect with SR 87 (Beeline Highway) in Tonto, Arizona. It was named after a Mesa lumberman named Harvey Granville Bush. Construction began on March 21, 1933 on what was then called "The Harvey Bush Highway." The road was opened to the public in 1934.

External links
The Story of Payson, Arizona
A little highway history
Google map