$47M Ramon Road bridge widening brings two years of traffic headaches, CV Link detour

Construction to widen the Ramon Road bridge over the Whitewater River from four lanes to six is scheduled to begin in December and last two years, project officials told about 60 people at a community meeting Tuesday at Agua Caliente Elementary School in Cathedral City.

The bridge carries more than 40,000 vehicles a day, and it often becomes the only way between Palm Springs and Cathedral City. When wind, rain, or flooding closes other routes such as Gene Autry Trail and Vista Chino, Ramon Road typically stays passable. 

Palm Springs is the lead agency on the project, with Cathedral City, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and CVAG also involved. 

Francisco Jaime, principal civil engineer for the city of Palm Springs, said the project costs about $47 million, not counting contingency. It is funded through federal, regional and local sources.

The Palm Springs City Council is expected to award the construction contract soon. Groundbreaking is planned for December, with completion set for December 2028. Another engineer working on the project confirmed that the contractor faces financial penalties for each day it runs past the deadline.

Cathedral City Mayor Pro Tem Ernesto Gutierrez told the crowd the work will be disruptive. “For two years you’re going to have a little bit of a headache,” he said.

Crews will keep two lanes open in each direction, working mostly from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with night shifts for critical tasks such as setting bridge girders. The project has six stages.

Stage one covers intersection improvements at San Luis Rey Drive and Crossley Road, followed by widening the bridge. Traffic then shifts to the north side so crews can build the south side.

Greg Gwozdz, part of the construction team for the project, said the southern work was split into two stages after project staff met with owners of businesses in the shopping center near Palm Springs Lanes, so those businesses keep driveway access.

The CV Link underpass beneath the bridge will close when bridge work begins in stage two and reopen after stage four. Josh Zipperman, a project manager, gave a timeline of the underpass closure a tentative 18 months.

The CV Link detour, a 2.5-mile route on busy surface streets is expected to open in late February or March, in line with the closure of the underpass.

“We’re really trying to minimize the amount of time, as we all know, just how important that is for the link and for public safety,” he said.

The underpass has been open only about a year, and cyclists raised the most pointed concerns about the detour. One attendee urged officials to commit to a safe route, and another warned about sending riders across “some of the most dangerous intersections.”

Zipperman said the project has no plans for physical barriers along the bike route. Instead, crews will add signage and look at signal changes. “Have a little faith in us. We really do want this to be a safe detour for everyone,” he said, adding that “we can always make adjustments as needed.”

After the meeting, Jaime said the team will take another look at adding physical separations, including lighter plastic barriers. Zipperman said the plastic barriers tend to get knocked loose and the concrete ones used on CV Link are far more involved.

Cyclists’ preferred route crosses private property along Sarah Street. It was considered during a recent Active Transportation Subcommittee meeting, where city officials said they were running into issues contacting the owner of the land. 

Businesses along the corridor were also a focus. Project staff have canvassed the area and set up a free “Businesses Open” program, in which owners submit logos, hours and marketing material so the project can promote them. “We’ve pretty much mapped every business in the corridor,” Zipperman said.

The project will build eight new driveways, and inspectors will be on site full time to keep businesses from being blocked.

A second in-person meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Boys and Girls Club of Cathedral City. Updates and more information are available online and the project’s 24/7 hotline is (760) 933-9944.

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