County gives $600,000 for Rock Springs crossing project

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors last week voted to allocate $600,000 toward the realigning of Rock Springs Road at the Mojave River Crossing in Hesperia.

The move comes a few weeks after the City of Hesperia received word that the Ranchero Road underpass project passed the initial environmental impact process. When the Ranchero project is completed - the city expects to break ground in the spring of 2009 - Ranchero and Rock Spring roads, along with Danbury Road, will likely become a major route through Apple Valley and Hesperia.

The Rock Springs allocation is part of $8.4 million approved on April 8 by the supervisors for desert road projects. Other area projects include a total of $3.9 million toward four Phelan projects, $1.9 for a Lucerne Valley road rehabilitation project, a $1 million passing lane project in Oro Grande, and $850,000 toward rehabilitating 2.3 miles of National Trails Highway in Needles.

"This funding will allow us to expedite the construction of several local road projects that would otherwise still be on the drawing board," Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt said through a news release. "We'll begin construction on these projects very soon."

According to Mitzelfelt's office, the desert road project funding is part of the $20 billion allocated for statewide transportation infrastructure improvements as a result of the November 2006 voter passage of Proposition 1B. The county is eventually expected to get $51 million of those funds; however, only $20 million have been currently apportioned to the county.