News from: The City of Indio

The City of Indio will receive a grant of $4,997,670 from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to beautify Jackson Street from Kenner Avenue to Avenue 45.  Indio was awarded the full grant amount requested from Clean California, thanks in part to support from the community, a bipartisan group of local state legislators and the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG).

Clean California is a state initiative to remove litter, create jobs for veterans, students, artists and others, and beautify California by cleaning up urban communities.

The intent of the project is to visually transform three quarters of a mile of Jackson Street, and encourage pedestrians and bicyclists to use the corridor by installing artistic shade elements, planting 30 shade trees, and adding artistically wrapped Bigbelly solar recycling and waste receptacles.  In addition, 6,000 square feet of sidewalk will be added and 36,000 square feet of sidewalk will be replaced to make the path more accessible, including the area around Jackson Elementary School, where more than 25 percent of students walk to school from surrounding neighborhoods.

“We are excited to get the community more involved in this project,” said Indio Mayor Waymond Fermon.  “We will be hosting cleanup events and design contests for the art elements.”

“The Desert Sands Unified School District appreciates the ongoing partnership with the City of Indio, which continues to yield positive benefits for students, staff, and community,” added DSUSD Superintendent Scott Bailey.

The environmental phase of the project is projected to finish in 2022, with design and construction occurring in 2023, and full implementation of the project will be completed by June of 2024.  This project will complement two additional grant funded projects in the area, the adjacent Indio Sports Park, which is also in the early phases of design, and the Civic Center Storm Drain Project, about a mile south on Jackson Street.

Additional information about the Clean California grant recipients can be found here: https://cleancalifornia.dot.ca.gov/local-grants.