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Measure K is a smart plan to speed roadwork
The Desert Sun Editorial Board • October 19,
2010
Now is a great time for roadwork in Riverside County. Interest rates are low, material costs are
down and goodness knows construction workers need the work.
And the need is great. A report released in September by TRIP, a Washington, D.C.-based
nonprofit group, ranked the Indio-Palm Springs area ninth-worst in the nation among urban areas
with a population of 500,000 or more.
Measure K can accelerate projects by nearly doubling the debt limit on Measure A, a half-cent sale
tax increase approved by Riverside County voters in 1988. When Measure A was re-authorized
by voters in 2002, the debt ceiling was set at $500 million. Measure K would raise the debt limit to
$975 million.
The Desert Sun encourages voters to approve Measure K.
Tom Kirk is executive director of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, which distributes
Measure A money here.
“Measure K provides an opportunity to expand the amount of major infrastructure in the Coachella
Valley and all across Riverside County,” Kirk said.
Construction bids are coming in at about 40 percent less than expected. For example, engineers
estimated the Interstate 10/Indian Canyon Drive interchange in Palm Springs would cost $25.5
million. Indio-based Granite Construction's winning bid came in a $16.5 million. The Gene Autry
Trail/Palm Drive and Bob Hope Drive/Ramon Road interchanges along I-10 each came in at $18 million
less than budgeted.
“There hasn't been a better time in three decades to get the work done,” Kirk said. “In addition to
stretching our taxpayer dollars, we're able to put people to work — people more impacted than most
by our struggling economy.”
Much of the roadwork will be done in western Riverside County, such as widening Highway 91,
one of the biggest bottlenecks in Southern California. Even if you're not among those who
occasionally head to the coast via Highway 91, poor road conditions and the daunting congestion could
deter drive-in traffic to our valley.
“The Coachella Valley benefits when transportation is improved throughout Southern California,” Kirk
said. “It's part of being a good regional citizen.”
Measure K is endorsed by a broad range of public officials, including Supervisor Marion Ashley; Mary
H. Curtin, former secretary-treasurer of the Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO; and Dick Oliphant, a
founder and board member of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership and former Indian Wells
mayor.
Measure A indebtedness would be limited to 25 percent of revenue, so there's no threat to the
county's credit rating. It would not increase taxes and promises to create 25,000 construction jobs. It
will decrease commuter times and smooth out our bumpy rides.
Vote yes on Measure K. |
