Palm Desert awards contracts for El Paseo and El Dorado road rehab; construction to begin this summer

The Palm Desert City Council on May 22 approved construction contracts for two street rehabilitation projects: El Paseo Street (Highway 74 East to Highway 111) and El Dorado Drive (Hovley Lane East to Country Club Drive). Council action on the projects passed unanimously.

Ryan Gaylor of Capital Projects described the El Paseo Street Rehabilitation Project as a full asphalt repair, addition of two upgraded mid-block crossings and three new mid-block crossings. Gaylor said construction will be disruptive to traffic and remove on-street parking adjacent to the work zone; the project is scheduled to begin mid-June with completion expected around September. Public affairs staff have conducted door-to-door outreach to businesses and met with the El Paseo Parking Business Improvement District, the Chamber of Commerce and other local groups; dining-deck operators were asked to remove temporary decks before construction starts and an alternate bid item allows the contractor to remove them if operators do not do so.

Ryan Lamb, capital projects, described the El Dorado Drive rehabilitation as a full repaving project that will also repair curbs, gutters and ADA pedestrian ramps. The project will incorporate a concurrent “Walk and Roll” restriping plan to add an 8-foot bike lane with a 4-foot buffer and reduce vehicle lane widths. Lamb said engineers originally recommended plastic curb delineators in the buffer but staff conducted outreach to HOAs and residents; facing strong resident opposition to the delineators and because they were not required, staff removed that element from the design. Construction for El Dorado is expected to take about 90 days, with work slated to begin in July.

A resident speaker who represented multiple HOAs praised staff outreach and said resident input influenced design changes to remove the plastic delineators. Council members asked about potential water- or irrigation-related damage to pavement and whether the city had considered bundling projects for economies of scale; staff said contractors bid both jobs but city scheduling and contractor bandwidth constrained bundling.

The contracts were among several consent and action items the council approved by 5-0. Council members emphasized continued outreach to businesses and HOAs and requested that the city keep schedules and Engage Palm Desert project pages updated for residents and businesses.

Why it matters: Both projects repair aging pavement and add pedestrian and bicycle safety features on two corridors used by residents and visitors. Construction timing and business outreach were central to council concern.