Finally! A Miles Avenue Bridge over Whitewater Wash
Local officials gathered today to christen the new Miles Avenue bridge, the centerpiece of the $22 million Miles Avenue/Clinton Street Improvement Project.
The bridge spans the Whitewater Wash just west of Madison Street, and connects downtown Indio with the western part of the city and Highway 111. The new all-weather crossing takes the roadbed out of the wash, and, as Supervisor Roy Wilson noted, that road washed out “every year, or at least every other year.”
Master of ceremonies for today’s ceremonies at La Hacienda Nursery and Landscape was Coachella Mayor Eduardo Garcia, CVAG Executive Committee Chairman. In addition to remarks by Mayor Garcia and Supervisor Wilson, Indio Mayor Melanie Fesmire welcomed the dignitaries to the long-awaited ribbon cutting.
John Standiford, deputy executive director of the Riverside County Transportation Commission, Juan Perez, director of the Riverside County Transportation Department and Tom Kirk, executive director of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments added details of the project, which was largely funded with Measure “A” and TUMF funds. The County and the City pitched in 25 percent of the project, or about $2.75 million each.
The remainder of the project comprises improvements on Miles, including expansion to four lanes and new sidewalks from the bridge to Clinton Street, as well as addition of one lane and replacement of existing sidewalk ton the west side of Clinton from Miles to Fred Waring Drive.