Board OKs resolution backing Airport Boulevard project in Thermal

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) - The Board of Supervisors today formally approved a resolution authorizing eminent domain proceedings for properties abutting Airport Boulevard in Thermal in order to facilitate a bridge improvement project.

The Transportation & Land Management Agency is overseeing the Airport Boulevard Bridge Replacement Project and requires 10 temporary and permanent easements connected to the enterprise.

"The project will increase the safety and capacity of the bridge," county Department of Transportation Director Dennis Acuna told the board. "It will raise it up for a higher clearance over the water."

The board previously signed off on initiation of the project. The unanimous vote Tuesday cleared the way for negotiations over the right-of-way easements, three of which are permanent, requiring acquisitions via the government's eminent domain authority, and seven are temporary easements, spanning the estimated 42-month duration of the project.   

Documents posted to the board's agenda stated that monetary offers had been extended to property owners, who include the Coachella Valley Water District, and the amounts were "consistent with local current property values... based on fair market value appraisals."

Specific figures weren't disclosed. No residential or commercial displacements are associated with the project.   

Acuna told the board the CVWD had expressed support for the bridge modifications over the last 18 months, but one of the hang-ups for the agency was whether it had clear title to the parcels at issue. Another stumbling block stems from the fact that the listed owner of record of several parcels died, apparently without heirs.   

"This (eminent domain process) is a way for us to sort out the ownership questions,'' Acuna said.

Officials said the current two-lane Airport Boulevard span, which intersects Orange Street to the west and Desert Cactus Drive to the east, requires upgrades for long-term maintenance. Reconstruction will entail raising the bridge where it crosses the Whitewater River by two to three feet, as well as expanding and resurfacing lanes, widening sidewalks and fortifying retaining walls.  

The city of Coachella is partnering with the county on the project and will be committing funds, documents stated.   

As of now, $81,500 has been allocated by the county for eminent domain proceedings, but most of that has originated from the state Highway Bridge Project Fund. No county General Fund appropriations will be required, officials said.

There was no word on when the project -- the total cost of which hasn't been confirmed -- might get underway once the easements have been secured, provided there's no litigation.