Sand Dunes to receive new roadways

GLAMIS — Recent improvements to roads within the Imperial Sand Dunes are being touted by the Bureau of Land Management as a reflection of its commitment to efficiently utilize visitor fees.

The rehabilitation and resurfacing of Gecko and Gray’s Well roads totaled about $11 million, and was made possible with monies through the Federal Highway Administration.

“The cost of doing the repairs that were needed was so high,” said Neil Hamada, BLM EL Centro Field Office supervisory outdoor recreation planner. “We couldn’t do those kinds of repairs without significant funding.”

Prior to this summer’s rehabilitation and resurfacing of the two roadways, the agency had spent considerable funds and manpower periodically maintaining the crumbling asphalt roads, he said.

Of the approximate $2 million collected in annual visitor fees, 23 percent, or about $470,000, was spent on maintenance activities at the dunes, which includes but is not limited to periodic road repair, Hamada said.

The widened roadways and shoulders are expected to cut down on road maintenance expenses, as well as provide a safer visitor experience at the popular off-highway vehicle recreation area.

“We’re trying to do things more and more efficiently,” Hamada said.

Although the agency’s local field office had applied for funding for the long-awaited deferred maintenance project years ago, it hadn’t been approved until recently, he said.

Aside from the rehabilitation and resurfacing of 7.7 miles of Gecko Road and 4.5 miles of Gray’s Well Road, the improvement project also installed a designated OHV crossing at Gecko Campground, as well as features that help with storm-water drainage.

The designated OHV crossing at Gecko Campground stemmed from a suggestion a member of the OHV community made to BLM officials during the Sand Sports Super Show in September in Costa Mesa.

The off-road enthusiast had shared his concerns about not being able to enter and exit their campsite as a result of being encircled by tightly packed recreation vehicles parked alongside the looping roadway’s edge, Hamada said.

At Hamada’s urging, the dune enthusiast provided BLM a map detailing several options where to locate an OHV crossing, which Hamada then presented to the project’s contractor.

The park visitor’s suggestion came at a fortunate time, since contractors were set to paint road striping throughout the park the following day. “These are public lands and we try to accommodate the public whenever we can,” Hamada said.

Park visitors can also expect to see land abutting certain parts of Gecko Road now equipped with riprap, loose stones thrown together that help prevent erosion from storm water, which had often required maintenance repairs. “Each time it rained, this place would get destroyed,” Hamada said.

The roads’ rehabilitation comes just in time for the Halloween weekend crowds, the first of several major crowds expected over the coming holiday weekends.

Pictures found on the BLM’s Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Facebook page regarding the roads’ rehabilitation have generated a fair amount of positive remarks, including one from an individual employed paving asphalt who commended the contractors for their work.

Work crews had worked from May until September on the Gecko and Gray’s Well roads projects, and finished slightly behind schedule on account of multiple days of inclement weather, Hamada said. “I think the visitors are going to be much happier,” Hamada said. “It’s a much safer road as well.”