IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Work has begun to upgrade along a two-mile stretch of Pepper Avenue that runs through San Bernardino and Rialto, a project that will be paid for by both cities.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Oct. 17 at Rialto High School, with staff and elected officials from both cities in attendance, according to a statement on San Bernardino’s website.
Improvements will include new pavement, sidewalks, and the installation of handicapped ramps. The upgrades will be done between Baseline and Mill streets and are expected to be finished by the middle of next year.
“We are so pleased to see this project moving forward,” said Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson in the statement. “Pepper Avenue is important not only as a major roadway, but it also serves as the eastern gateway to Rialto and the western gateway to San Bernardino.”
The curb-to-curb upgrades have been in the works for at least five years, San Bernardino Mayor John Valdivia said.
“That stretch [of the road] is in really bad shape,” Valdivia said. “It’s a good thing for both cities that this is going to be done.”
San Bernardino will pay for the project with gas tax revenue and funds generated by Measure I, a half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements approved by San Bernardino County voters in 1989 and given a 40-year extension in 2004. Rialto has agreed to reimburse San Bernardino 50 percent of the cost.
Both cities entered into a joint agreement in May 2020. The exact cost of the project was not available.
