Local & Community
Palm Springs Council To Vote On $47 Million Contract For Ramon Road Bridge Widening
Palm Springs City Council is set to vote Wednesday on a $47.3 million construction contract with Ortiz Enterprises, the company that would widen Ramon Road and the bridge over the Whitewater River.
Ortiz, based in Irvine, submitted the lowest of five bids the city received on Oct. 9. The other four bids came from Southern California companies and ranged from about $49.4 million to $57.6 million.
The project is a joint effort between Palm Springs, Cathedral City, and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. It will widen Ramon Road from San Luis Rey Drive to Landau Boulevard, taking the bridge from four lanes to six. Crews will also retrofit the bridge to better withstand earthquakes, add a 5-foot sidewalk on the north side, and build a 10-foot path for walking and biking on the south side, separated from traffic by a barrier. Traffic signals, retaining walls, and landscaping are also part of the plan, and the CV Link path will be detoured during construction.
According to the project website, more than 40,000 commuters use this stretch of Ramon Road on an average day, linking shopping and business areas in both cities and connecting residents to Palm Springs International Airport.
In a staff report for Wednesday’s meeting, city staff flagged two mistakes in Ortiz’s list of subcontractors, though staff recommends moving forward. Ortiz listed two different companies for the bridge’s drilled foundation work, and under state law, listing more than one means Ortiz has to do that work itself. The city reviewed Ortiz’s experience and thinks the company is qualified to handle it. Ortiz also left off a description of the work All American Asphalt would do, which the company later clarified as asphalt paving. The city thinks that mistake is minor and is asking council to waive it.
According to city staff, with $8 million set aside for changes during construction, about $254,000 for federal paperwork support from NAI Consulting, and $145,728 for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians to monitor digging near recorded cultural sites, the total project is projected to cost around $55.7 million.
Palm Springs will pay those costs upfront, though most of the money will be paid back. Caltrans is expected to cover about $37.6 million through a federal bridge program, with the Coachella Valley Association of Governments paying about $13.6 million and Cathedral City paying about $2.7 million. That leaves Palm Springs with a share of about $1.8 million. Council is also being asked to set aside an extra $9.8 million in Measure A transportation sales tax money, since staff said costs rose over the nearly 20 years the project has been in the works while the approved budget stayed the same.
If council approves the contract, construction is expected to take about two years.
Project updates are available at RamonRoadBridgeProject.com.
By: Harrison Bluto
October 27, 2026
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