On June 17, a ground-breaking ceremony was held at Elk Trail, just north of 29 Palms Highway, that officially marked the beginning of construction on the Old Town Beautification & Sustainability Project. Designed by RHA Landscape Architects-Planners, Inc. of Riverside, California, the west side of Elk Trail between 29 Palms Highway to the south and Yucca Trail on the north, will be transformed into paved parking for up to 95 vehicles with eight electric vehicle charging stations, surrounded by high-desert landscaping. At the northwest corner of 29 Palms Highway and Elk Trail, there will be amenities for visitors to the Old Town neighborhood, which include a set of prefabricated public restrooms, a shaded picnic shelter, various seat walls, several shade trees, and, at the corner itself, a monument designation sign or a public art installation.
The contract to construct the project was awarded to IE General Engineering Inc. of Beaumont, California. The projected construction budget is $2.75 million and is funded through the Town’s Measure Y and Capital Project Reserve Fund programs.
When completed in late November 2024, Yucca Valley’s Old Town neighborhood will have an inviting and welcoming space for visitors to shed their vehicles, walk to specialty shops, stores, restaurants and cafes and visit other destinations of interest.
For more information, please contact Public Works Director Alex Qishta at aqishta@yucca-valley.org or (760) 369-6579, extension 307.
About the Town of Yucca Valley
Yucca Valley lies in the Little San Bernardino Mountains at an elevation of 3,300 feet as the gateway to the Joshua Tree National Park and the economic hub of the Morongo Basin. Yucca Valley is conveniently situated on CA State Highway 62, intersected by State Highway 247 and easily accessible to all of Southern California.