The city is making progress on several infrastructure improvements, including street rehabilitations, a new library and a fire station, according to updates provided to the City Council.
Director of Capital Projects Jess Culpeper presented updates on four major projects during a recent council meeting, highlighting completed work and upcoming milestones.
The El Paseo street rehabilitation project, which began June 16, has completed all major construction as of Oct. 10. The project rebuilt and rehabilitated the street and curb ramps along El Paseo from Highway 74 to 111, covering approximately 1.2 miles.
Workers pulverized and reconstructed the street pavement to a depth of 10 inches, constructed five mid-block crossings and re-graded the St. Louis Ray intersection while adding storm drain improvements. Finishing touches, including installation of signal loops and push buttons for crosswalks, will occur by the end of next month.
Mayor Jan Harnik emphasized the thoroughness of the work.
"This wasn't just slurry coating. This wasn't just repaving. We really went in there and addressed issues that have existed, and now we've got a whole fresh, really well-engineered street." Harnik said.
Culpeper credited the project team, along with contractors and staff from public works and other divisions. The project encountered unexpected challenges, including layers of concrete under different sections of the street and a sewer line filled with concrete.
"We're glad that we got to do this full reclamation project and get it where it deserves to be," Culpeper said.
The El Dorado street rehabilitation project, which began in July, was completed last month. The project rehabilitated the street and curb ramps from Hovely to Country Club, covering about one mile.
"This wasn't just slurry coating. This wasn't just repaving. We really went in there and addressed issues that have existed, and now we've got a whole fresh, really, well engineered street." – Palm Desert Mayor Jan Harnik
Work included pulverizing and reconstructing street pavement to a depth of 10 inches, demolishing and reinstalling concrete cross gutters and curb ramps to ensure ADA compliance, and revising striping and signage to align with the city's walk and roll active transportation project design.
The project also added vehicle and bicycle detection loops at traffic signals to improve detection and signal responsiveness.
The request for proposals for the new library facility closed on the day of the meeting, with a couple of proposals received. City staff will return to the council next month to award the project. Demolition of the Parkview building is planned for early 2026, with construction scheduled to begin next summer and finish by the end of 2027.
Construction on Fire Station 102 is also progressing. Grading activities began in June, and the underground retention system, structural steel, stem walls and building foundation are now complete. Current work includes building framing, with upcoming milestones including carport structural steel installation and site walls.