$3.3M road and drainage improvements on the way for Mission Lakes Country Club

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. (KESQ) – Road improvements are coming to one of the largest communities in the Desert Hot Springs area.

The Mission Lakes Area Resurfacing project will repave 25 streets totaling 5.7 miles within Mission Lakes Country Club. All of the roadways are public, county-maintained roadways. These roadways are open to the public and not gated.

Residents will see work done through the middle of September, with typical work hours happening between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The goal of the improvements doesn't stop at just repairing bumpy roads; storm drainage is also a key issue the county is looking to fix, especially as flooding from stormwater remains a key issue in our desert.

The total budget for the project is about $3.3 million, and is funded with the county’s gas tax and SB 1 transportation funds and Mission Springs Water District funds for the work involving the district’s utilities.

We spoke with local residents about the fixes, who said the upgrades were a long time coming.

Eric Pontius, who lives in the community, said, "It's long overdue for some road work in here. I mean, it is public since we don't have a gate here. It's not private. So yeah, it is their responsibility to fix it."

And when referencing some of the drainage issues in the community, he pointed towards the spots that lie lower than others.

"It is lower, especially down here at the bottom. They do have some flooding issues."

More Mission Lakes streets east of the current project have been identified for a Mission Lakes Phase 2 resurfacing project in future years.

We tried to reach out to Aaron Cortez, the Project Manager. He declined our repeated requests for comment. We also tried to speak with Eric Charos, the General Manager of the Mission Lakes Country Club. He was away and could not provide an interview on Wednesday.

He wrote in a news release about the project:

"This is very significant in our community’s over 50-year history that the roads are being totally re-done up here. Mission Lakes Country Club was developed with public roads and so we appreciate the attention by the County Transportation Department and by Supervisor Perez to take care of them. The coordination with our community has been outstanding. This will be a big improvement for our residents, and all who visit to golf, enjoy our restaurants and amenities with some of the best views in the valley!"

Eric Charos, Mission Lakes Country Club

Supervisor V. Manuel Perez also commented on the project:

"This project will fix up a substantial number of streets in this unincorporated community, Mission Lakes Country Club. This roadwork is a significant improvement that will be long lasting after it’s completed.”

Riverside County Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez