Construction causing traffic, hurting businesses on Vista Chino

Residents in Cathedral City are complaining that a major road construction project is making Vista Chino less safe.

On Thursday night a pickup truck plowed into the back of a car that slowed down because of traffic on Vista Chino just west of Landau Boulevard.

“The guy he came out of the car. And my dad was there and helped him. The guy was shaking and scared,” said Carlos Quevedl who lives on Vista Chino. The man was taken to the hospital.

Some residents who live on Vista Chino say they hear the screeching sounds of people slamming on their brakes much more since the start of this massive construction project which goes from Date Palm to Landau. The four-lane road has been reduced to one lane in each direction.

People who have to use this route as part of their commute say the traffic is terrible.

“It is bad. To be honest every morning going to work and getting home there’s like an extra 20 minutes each way” said Jules Decierdo who lives in a neighborhood just off of Vista Chino.

Norma Jimenez owns Norma’s Hair Salon which is on the corner of Vista Chino and Landau. She said the construction is shaving away at her profits.

“It’s a lot of traffic and my clients are giving me a lot of complaints because there is no turn and it is very slow,” said Jimenez.

Construction is scheduled to continue until June 30 and people we talked to say they think more could be done to speed up the process.

“I was hoping I would see them working later at night because usually that’s how they do it,” Decierdo said.

If drivers want to avoid the construction completely the best routes to go would be to take Ramon Road or Dinah Shore Drive.