Anyone who’s driven through Yucca Valley has noticed how heavy the traffic is between Old Woman Springs Road and Warren Vista Drive. Managing editor Tami Roleff says at Tuesday’s Yucca Valley Town Council meeting, the council members were given a status report on the future widening of this section of the highway…
Traffic on Highway 62 in Yucca Valley averages 30,000 to 35,000 vehicles trips per day. A four-lane highway like Highway 62 can’t handle more than
40,000 vehicle trips a day before drivers start to experience gridlock. The Yucca Valley Town Council learned Tuesday night that widening that short
half-mile section of road will take years and millions of dollars. Council members were shown plans for two versions of a widened highway; one that left the power poles in place, and one that moved them. Costs ranged from $7¼ million to about $13 million. The town would have to get approval—and most likely variances for the improvements—from Caltrans for any improvements to the highway, which the council was warned would be very time-consuming. There was no action taken on the highway widening; the report was for informational purposes only.
