Ramon Road
county and city documents.
The project is a partnership between the city and Riverside County Flood Control & Water Conservation District, as The Desert Sun reported when county supervisors approved funding for the work in 2021.
The DWA project is part of an ongoing effort to replace aging water pipelines throughout its system to help improve water reliability, decrease repair costs and reduce water loss, according to the DWA website.
When will it be done?
The project on Ramon Road itself began in February and is expected to take around 10 months, with the work zone gradually moving west along Ramon Road to Farrell Drive and then north on Farrell Drive to Tahquitz Canyon Way. The first stage, the work along Ramon, is set to be completed in June, and second portion on Farrell should run from then until November.
The DWA project started on March 11 and was expected to take about a month. DWA Spokesperson Xochitl Peña told The Desert Sun in late March that the major work of the pipe installation and had been completed and only some cleanup remained.
How has it impacted drivers?
The city website states that the Ramon Project involves closures of lanes in 500-foot increments, although one lane of traffic will always be open in each direction. However, the closures have resulted in significant slowdowns during busy times. The city says it will place signs to update the public about where work will happen before it starts. It has also said it is hoping to complete as much of the work on Farrell Drive as possible during Palm Springs High School’s summer break to reduce disruptions, although work will continue into the school year.
DWA has said its project resulted in “slight” impacts to people who use the roads, including slowdowns and reduced access to the Ramon frontage road, but did not impact traffic on Ramon itself.
Why do this during Palm Springs’ busy season?
Blaisdell said the February start date was chosen because the city wanted to avoid starting work on the project during the holidays in late 2023. So the 10month project timeline meant work had to be done during the spring busy season. She added that because of the length of the projects, “it is difficult to avoid some inconvenience.”
Peña also said that the DWA project had to be done suddenly, sooner than originally planned.
Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and email him at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.