CV Link path under Ramon Road to close fully for two-year bridge reconstruction
City staff say no part of the path can stay open while crews dig 23 feet down while a preferred detour along Sarah Street in Cathedral City is stalled over property access.
The CV Link path under Ramon Road will be closed and removed entirely during the two-year reconstruction of the Ramon Road Bridge, city engineering staff told the Palm Springs Active Transportation Subcommittee on Monday.
Bids for the project open Thursday. Staff said they are aiming to bring it to the City Council at its last meeting in October or its only meeting in November.
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“There’s really no way to keep that crossing open during construction,” City Engineer Joel Montalvo told the committee members. “We’re digging from one end of the channel to the other end of the channel. We’re going 23 feet down to do scour protection for the bridge.”
A detour plan created by Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) would close the path at a set location and send riders mostly along existing bike paths, and CVAG plans to post the detour plan around the construction zone.
Staff are also looking at lowering speeds in certain areas and installing a four-way stop at the Sunny Dunes Road and Lawrence Crossley Road.
A subcommittee member said the group wants the temporary route to be safe so people aren’t discouraged from biking during construction. Members urged CVAG to give the detour the same signage theme as CV Link, including clear turn directions and the blue and orange used in bike lanes.
Several members said the preferred option would instead run along Sarah Street in Cathedral City, taking riders from CV Link to Lawrence Crossley Road without going through neighborhoods.
A member who spoke with CVAG’s traffic engineer said that option was looked at, “But they didn’t pursue it because they could not get a response from the property owners.”
The route would cross private property in Cathedral City, and the owner would have to grant CVAG an easement, members said. One member said Cathedral City’s lead engineer is open to the idea.
“There’s not a whole lot city staff can do as it’s not within our jurisdiction,” Flinn Fagg, assistant city manager, said.
Councilmember Ron deHarte was sitting in on the meeting, and offered to join in with a call to ask for more details from CVAG.
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