In the wake of September’s flash floods in Joshua Tree, the County’s Department of Public Works movement of dirt left some locals unsatisfied. Reporter Dan Stork describes the bureaucratic cracks into which further improvements are falling…
At October’s Morongo Basin MAC meeting, local residents complained to Supervisor James Ramos about a big ditch that was excavated after September’s flash floods in Joshua Tree. It stops at the south edge of Route 62 near downtown Joshua Tree, and picks up on the north side, which led residents to worry about what will happen to the highway at the next flood. An answer to inquiries by Ramos’ staff to the County’s Department of Public Works about the possibility of constructing a culvert under the highway, said that the drainage crossings along SR62 are operated and maintained by Caltrans, so it typically would operate and maintain anything that crosses the road. The Flood Control District’s right of way stops at the road crossings. The Caltrans District 8 maintenance office in turn said that it is charged with maintaining the infrastructure as it now exists, and has no authority to make capital improvements. Further action on this concern apparently depends upon routing it through the proper channels in Caltrans.
WORRIES OVER FLOOD CONTROL IN JOSHUA TREE
