Cathedral City repairing roads damaged in powerful storm Hilary

Ani Gasparyan, Palm Springs Desert Sun
·2 min read

Cathedral City will soon start repairing pavement on Horizon Road and other parts of the Panorama neighborhood damaged by Hilary, which was a hurricane and tropical storm before it reached Southern California and caused serious damage in places.

Panorama suffered perhaps the most serious damage in the Coachella Valley, in particular Horizon Road. Mud flows buried the street and invaded homes, requiring people to dig out several feet of it. It was collected into nearby piles, which the city then spent millions to remove.

"This is the next step in the continuing efforts to repair and rebuild the neighborhood damaged by Tropical Storm Hilary," said City Manager Charlie McClendon.

On Wednesday, the city council unanimously awarded Orange County-based Hardy & Harper Inc. a construction contract in the amount of $636,000 to repair several streets in Panorama. It also approved a 15% contingency of $95,400 in case of unexpected costs, which raises the total to $731,400.

What streets is the city repairing and how?

Cathedral City Public Works Department employee Jeremy Frey surveys the mud damage on Horizon Road on Aug. 22, 2023.
Cathedral City Public Works Department employee Jeremy Frey surveys the mud damage on Horizon Road on Aug. 22, 2023.

The work will happen on Horizon Road, Los Gatos Road, Panorama Road, East-West Alley and North-South Alley.

John Corella, the city's director of engineering and public works, said crews will be lifting off three inches of asphalt and putting three inches back down. They will also do other related necessary fixes like reconstructing curb ramps, and pavement striping and marking.

How long will it take?

The repairs are scheduled to start in May and be done in July, according to a staff report sent to the city council.

Why do these roads need to be fixed?

Corella said the storm left a lot of debris and sediment on these roads. The city had to use heavy equipment that wouldn't normally be on those roadways, which accelerated their deterioration by up to eight years, he said.

"You've got to remember that residential streets aren't designed to carry these heavy loads as frequently as they were doing the storm," Corella said.

Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Cathedral City repairing roads damaged by powerful storm Hilary