IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
More than 1,000 people attended the opening of a highway underpass in Hesperia, a long-planned project that is expected to lighten traffic in the High Desert city.
The underpass at Ranchero Road and Interstate 15 connects Ranchero Road across Interstate 15 beneath the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks, according to a published report.
The $27 million project, which opened June 29th with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, means residents of southeast Hesperia will no longer have to use Main Street to reach Interstate 15, according to the report.
Construction began in January, but the project has been in the pipeline since Hesperia incorporated in 1988. Completion was so difficult that some local residents through the years joked that the underpass would happen “when pigs fly,” according to the report.
A classic yellow Dodge was the ceremonial first vehicle to drive beneath the overpass, followed by a car carrying Mayor Bill Holland.
The underpass was paid for with a combination of city, regional, state and federal funding. It’s part of a three-phase improvement project on Ranchero Avenue, according to the report.
(Images by The City of Hesperia)
