Gavin Nguyen
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Big changes are coming to the Ramon Road Bridge, but concerns are growing over the impacts of a long construction project.
The Ramon Road Bridge is set to be widened from a 4-lane bridge to a 6-lane bridge, with 3 lanes flowing in each direction. The goal is to reduce congestion and increase traffic flow. New bridge barriers and bridge supports will also be installed to reinforce the bridge infrastructure. Repaving work and driveway improvements are also expected to be done, as shown in the map below.
Project map from the City of Palm Springs (engagepalmsprings.com)
Construction is expected to begin later this year, with a projected end date in Winter 2028/Spring 2029. The Palm Springs City Council will be opening the project to bidders at the next council meeting.
Earlier this year, News Channel 3’s Luis Avila investigated the rough road conditions along the stretch of Ramon in the spotlight. While the expansion and improvements are widely considered to be necessary upgrades in a high-traffic area, there’s some concern over the impact the construction will have.
Concerned cyclists reached out to News Channel 3 about a lengthy detour that would place riders inches alongside traffic. They said they were worried about the lack of an undercrossing connecting the two sides of the CV Link while the bridge is worked on.
John Siegel, a bike safety activist who frequently rides on the Link, questioned why the underpass couldn’t be left open.
“I don’t think is necessary because anytime you go to a big city, you see that people use scaffolding so that people pedestrians use sidewalks, they don’t close bike lanes,” he reasoned. Gesturing to the route behind him, he continued, “Our intention here in Palm Springs to be safe and successful with tourism, it probably makes sense to keep this open.”
The underpass was initially opened in response to a lack of a connector between the Link on the north side and south side of Ramon, as News Channel 3 previously reported at the end of 2025. Now, the detour will take cyclists and pedestrians through a familiar path: through the Dream Homes neighborhood, across two busy intersections (San Luis Rey/Ramon and Lawrence Crossley/Dinah Shore), before Link users rejoin the path near the Dinah Shore Bridge.
It’s the same route Siegel said he and many other cyclists used before the crossing was created. With that experience, he knows many new cyclists and tourists will be unfamiliar with the unclear route. “There’s going to be, I would say, a degree of chaos steering people through neighborhoods in ways that it’s not obvious,” he said.
I asked Joel Montalvo, the city engineer with Palm Springs, why closing the connector underneath Ramon Rd. was the only option.
He answered, “I don’t think it’s really feasible and I think it’s very dangerous. So the contractor wants full control of his construction activities. We’re going to be demoing. We’re going to be doing major construction, renovation underneath the structure itself.”
Montalvo said impacts like these are to be expected during long-term construction projects, and that the decisions were made with safety in mind.
For drivers, that means possible slowdowns, lane narrowing, and lane closures, though crews will work to keep two lanes open on both sides through the duration of the project.
Montalvo’s message for the public during the project: “We do want the general public to have patience [and] to be respectful. But we are going to try to maintain two lanes in each direction. We really appreciate the public’s help in delivering this critical project.”
The project is set to be opened to bidding at Palm Springs’s next city council meeting this week. Once that happens, a clearer project timeline and cost estimate will emerge. Right now, the construction is projected to cost the city between $50-70 million dollars and will last for two years.
Stay with us for continuing coverage.
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