The City Council of Cathedral City has approved a Design Professional Services Agreement with HR Green Inc. for the design and preparation of bid-ready construction documents for the Date Palm Drive Pavement Rehabilitation Project.
The City Council authorized the City Manager to execute the agreement and authorized a budget amendment in the amount of $251,443 from available FY 2022/2023 Maintenance of Effort (MOE) funds for the completion of the design work.
The City’s Engineering Staff has identified the Date Palm Drive roadway segment between Ramon Road and Dinah Shore Drive as the first area along this corridor to receive pavement rehabilitation. The segment is approximately one mile in length and will require a full pavement and base rehabilitation, which also includes drainage improvements, infill sidewalk placements, ADA ramps improvements, and traffic striping. City staff also identified the intersection of 30th Avenue and Date Palm Drive, as another area in need of rehabilitation and recommended the construction of concrete approach lanes along Date Palm Drive.
Date Palm Drive interconnects with major arterials passing through adjacent jurisdictions, and connects to US Interstate 10 and East Palm Canyon Drive. Over time, the corridor experiences high volumes of traffic resulting in excessive wear to the pavement. Though the roadway is maintained, many portions of this roadway require complete reconstruction.
“This project is integral as Date Palm Drive is a primary economic and lifeline corridor for the City of Cathedral City and serves as our only north/south truck route,” said John Corella, Director of Engineering / Public Works. “The corridor is relied on by our residents, and others for commerce, residential, regional circulation, and other uses.”
In the past years the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (ACBCI) has entered agreements with the City of Cathedral City to participate in funding of roadways providing access within and leading to Reservation lands. These roadways are important to the ACBCI because they serve the entire ACBCI community. As these roads are identified, these roads are placed into the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) to provide the necessary roadway improvements funding.
In August 2019, an Intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and the ACBCI established the use of TTP funds for the design, construction, and maintenance of public roads classified as Tribal Reservation Roads. Under the MOU, the Tribe will provide up to $5 million over a 10 year-period toward road construction projects. Date Palm Drive is classified as a Tribal Reservation Road and therefore, a reconstruction project on Date Palm Drive is eligible for this TPP funding.
