When the surprise storm hit Twentynine Palms on Sunday, July 14, nobody imagined what a mess it would create on city streets. Public Works immediately got busy with bulldozers, Bobcats and all means of land movers, but where does all that sand go? Snow piles up, sure, but it melts. What about our shifting sands?
Public Works Superintendent Craig Stacey confirmed that he and his crew haul it from one spot – say, the intersection of Encelia – and move it to another spot that needs it, say, a berm that needs reinforcement. None of the sand or dirt that is removed after a storm is stockpiled anywhere, it is used to fill in dredged roads or back-fill berms where sorely needed. There is no “net gain” of dirt post-storm, it just gets put back on city roads as barriers or used wherever it is most needed.
Stacey noted that county flood workers and CalTrans all have the same policy – all agencies use the sand where needed, no stockpiling.
Also, Stacey noted that while his department gets lots of inquiries about residents wanting that excess dirt, he notes that it is of very low quality, and not something he would use in his own yard. The storm is essentially processing the dirt like a miner panning for gold and separating the aggregate/rocks from the silt so it is not an even mix like regular dirt.
Also, thanks to Public Works, Larrea Avenue, between Highway 62 and 2-Mile Road, is now open to traffic after a timely road repair.
