CVAG to begin contract negotiations for Western Coachella Valley Flooding and Blowsand Projects
The Coachella Valley Association of Governments Transportation Committee has taken another step toward keeping flood-prone and sand-drifted roads open in the Western Coachella Valley.
The panel agreed on Monday to proceed to negotiate a contract with Michael Baker International to do the work, which prioritizes building some short bridges and culverts through the Whitewater Wash on Indian Canyon Drive along with two other major roadway connectors.
“Every year, storms and major wind events force the closure of these regional roads," CVAG Transportation Director. "People traveling to work, school, and other locations can be cut off and forced to take long detours or stranded for hours."
This comes after the CVAG Project Development Team recommended the Executive Committee authorize contracting with MBI on what's being called the Western Coachella Valley Flooding and Blowsand Projects – Phase One.
MBI was selected for a number of reasons, including its previous work preparing the flooding and blowsand study, as well as a lack of competition.
“We did receive a couple of calls from some large engineering firms that just expressed that they were not going to be proposing because they had some capacity issues just with how busy everyone is,” according to Jonathan Hoy, CVAG Director of Transportation.
For years, residents in Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, and other western cities have expressed frustration over storm-related road closures that often prevent access to Interstate 10.
“Even though we obviously expressed our concerns about emergency access to the trauma center, which is one of the main points on trying to move this along, there’s a lot of other concerns with traffic flow,” said Mayor Scott Matas of Desert Hot Springs.
Matas said he wants to ensure that every stakeholder involved in the project is included in discussions moving forward. “One of the biggest concerns I have moving these projects is we get to a certain place and the environmental groups seem to step in at the last minute. Let’s bring them to the forefront,” said Mayor Matas.
The design and engineering phase of work required to advance these projects
is estimated to be between $4-$5 million.
The next steps require CVAG to work closely with MBI to “refine their scope of work to expedite the proposed schedule,” according to Jonathan Hoy, CVAG Transportation Director.
CVAG has asked MBI to provide a proposal for everything the firm would need to do to begin construction. The Project Development Team will then bring the contract to the Executive Committee at the next meeting in September.
