About 60 people attended a community meeting at Agua Caliente Elementary School in Cathedral City on Tuesday, October 20. Most of the night was about the bridge, but cyclists raised the sharpest concerns, and those were about the path under it.
Starting in December, the Ramon Road bridge over the Whitewater River will be widened from four lanes to six. The bridge work has a firm completion date, and an engineer has said the contractor faces daily penalties if it runs late. The CV Link detour has only a target window. The route preferred by the city's Active Transportation Subcommittee needs an easement on private property in Cathedral City, which is outside Palm Springs' jurisdiction. Once the underpass closes in late winter, the official detour can open either way. How good that detour is, though, depends on a property agreement that no construction schedule controls.
A crossing that rarely closes, now closing for the path
Ramon Road carries more than 40,000 vehicles a day. The Palm Springs Post describes it as the crossing that typically stays open when wind, rain or flooding closes Gene Autry Trail and Vista Chino. When those routes are closed, it is often the only way between Palm Springs and Cathedral City.
Palm Springs is the lead agency. Cathedral City, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, or CVAG, are also part of the project. Francisco Jaime, principal civil engineer for Palm Springs, put the cost at about $47 million, not counting contingency, paid for with federal, regional and local money.
The CV Link underpass beneath the bridge has been open for only about a year. In November 2025, The Palm Springs Post reported that the undercrossing was still being finished while ribbon cuttings marked the rest of the 40-mile path. The underpass connects the Palm Springs and Cathedral City sides of CV Link's West Valley corridor. CVAG's map shows that corridor running along the Whitewater River from the Palm Springs Visitor Center to Date Palm Drive.
Why the path can't simply stay open
At the Active Transportation Subcommittee meeting covered by The Palm Springs Post on October 6, City Engineer Joel Montalvo explained what the crews will be doing in the channel:
"There's really no way to keep that crossing open during construction. 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."
Staff told the subcommittee that the path under Ramon Road will be closed and removed entirely during the work. Sources give different lengths for the closure. Project manager Josh Zipperman gave a tentative 18 months at the October 20 meeting. The underpass would close when bridge work begins in stage two and reopen after stage four. An October 12 segment on NBC Palm Springs' Roggin Report described a closure of roughly two years, with the project continuing into 2029.
The route riders asked for crosses private land
CVAG drew up the official detour. According to the October 6 Post report, it closes the path at a set point and sends riders mostly along existing bike paths, with the plan posted around the construction zone. At the October 20 meeting, the detour was described as a 2.5-mile route on busy surface streets. It is expected to open in late February or March, when the underpass closes.
Several subcommittee members prefer a different route along Sarah Street in Cathedral City. It would take riders from CV Link to Lawrence Crossley Road without going through neighborhoods. CVAG's traffic engineer looked at that option. Members said it wasn't pursued because the property owners didn't respond. Using it would require the owner to grant CVAG an easement. One member said Cathedral City's lead engineer is open to the idea.
Assistant City Manager Flinn Fagg explained where Palm Springs stands:
"There's not a whole lot city staff can do as it's not within our jurisdiction."
Two weeks later, the problem was still open. At the October 20 meeting, according to The Palm Springs Post, the Sarah Street option was still awaiting property access. One attendee urged officials to commit to a safe route. Another warned that riders would be sent across "some of the most dangerous intersections." On the NBC segment, panelists made the same point about commuting. Some people use the path to get to work, not only for exercise, and they asked why the detour wasn't finalized ahead of the closure.
What the official detour is set to include
Project staff and the subcommittee have described these elements:
- Signage and signal changes. Zipperman said there are no plans for physical barriers along the bike route. Crews will add signs and look at signal timing, and he said "we can always make adjustments as needed."
- A second look at separation. After the meeting, Jaime said the team would reconsider physical separation, including lighter plastic barriers. Zipperman noted that plastic barriers tend to get knocked loose, and that the concrete barriers used on CV Link take much more work to install.
- Traffic calming on the approach. Staff are considering lower speeds in some areas and a four-way stop at Sunny Dunes Road and Lawrence Crossley Road.
- A request for familiar wayfinding. Subcommittee members asked CVAG to sign the detour in CV Link's style, with clear turn directions and the blue and orange used in bike lanes.
Lawrence Crossley Road shows up in both versions. It is where the Sarah Street option would end, and it is where staff are considering the new four-way stop. Whichever route opens in late winter, riders can expect that corridor to carry more bike traffic than it does now.
Drivers keep two lanes each way
Drivers get more certainty than riders do. Crews will keep two lanes open in each direction and work mostly from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Night shifts are planned for critical tasks such as setting bridge girders. The six stages run in this order:
| Phase | What happens | What it means for the path |
|---|---|---|
| Stage one | Intersection improvements at San Luis Rey Drive and Crossley Road | Underpass stays open |
| Stage two | Bridge widening begins | Underpass closes, detour opens |
| Later stages | Traffic shifts north so crews can build the south side, split into two stages | Underpass stays closed through stage four |
| After stage four | Remaining work | Underpass reopens |
The south-side split came from talking with businesses. Greg Gwozdz of the construction team said the southern work was divided into two stages after project staff met with owners in the shopping center near Palm Springs Lanes, so those businesses keep driveway access. The project will also build eight new driveways and keep inspectors on site full time so businesses aren't blocked. A free "Businesses Open" program lets owners submit logos, hours and marketing material for the project to promote. Zipperman said staff have "pretty much mapped every business in the corridor."
The dates to watch, in order
The bridge schedule has already moved once. In June, the city said construction would start in the fall. A September 24 notice said winter. At the October 20 meeting, officials gave December as the groundbreaking. Here's the sequence as it stands:
- Contract award. Bids opened in early October. Staff aimed to bring the contract to the City Council at its last October meeting or its only November meeting. As of October 20, the award was still described as coming "soon."
- Groundbreaking in December 2026, starting with the stage one intersection work. The underpass stays open during this stage.
- Underpass closure and detour, late February or March 2027. This is when riders will find out which route was chosen.
- Completion in December 2028. An engineer on the project confirmed that the contractor faces financial penalties for each day it runs past the deadline.
The project's official StoryMap has updates, renderings and a fact sheet. The 24/7 project hotline is (760) 933-9944. For the trail itself, CVAG's CV Link map shows current construction zones and detours.
The finished bridge will be better for people on foot and on bikes than the current one. The City of Palm Springs' project announcement lists sidewalks, protected bike lanes and a connection to CV Link and other trails as part of the widened six-lane bridge.
Two years of work along Ramon Road changes daily routines for people who live near it. If you own a home on either side of the Whitewater River and want to know how the construction calendar affects timing, showings or access to your property, Mark Wise Group can walk you through it. Request a Private Consultation for a calm, local read on what this project means for your plans.
