Repair work underway on Indio road washed away by winter storm

The footage captured from above last February showed the devastation left behind, after flood waters, rushing through the wash area,.washed away a section of Avenue 44.

At the time, the official word from the city of Indio was that the road would be closed one to two weeks, at least.

Tuesday, construction crews worked at the site, clearing away earth and rock around underground pipes, while also spraying water around the site to prevent dust from kicking up.

“The city needs restoration, and it has to start somewhere, and the way i see it, is with roadways,” said Gilbert Trevino, a staffer at “Victory in Christ” church on Avenue 44, about one block west of the street closure.

While congregants have not been required to travel too far around the damaged road, he does think having the road blocked for several months has impacted attendance.

“We used to have a big congregation, it is kind of minimized due to the road being washed away,” said Trevino.

Across the street from the church, at an appliance and furniture shop, the owner, Miguel Guzman, who has been in business for 30 years, says his business has taken a big hit because of the closed road, to the point he might be forced to close his doors.

Guzman and Trevino are glad to see the repair work getting started.

“Without the roads, how do we get to where we need to be going, and the church is the place we need to be going,” said Trevino.

The city’s public works director says the project, at a cost of $350,000 will take 30 days to complete.

Tim Wassil says the reason it took six and half months to get the project going, was because of the bidding process, permitting, securing funding and work that had to first be completed by the Indio Water Authority.