While driving along Interstate 10 through the Coachella Valley, it would be very difficult to not notice the construction of new overpasses, on-ramps and off-ramps. There is excitement in knowing that soon, seamless travel into Coachella Valley cities and long waiting in evening traffic in order to get off the freeway will be a thing of the past. One of these long awaited projects recently celebrated its partial opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony which brought together some very eager Coachella Valley community members who found themselves admiring the beautiful design of the Bob Hope Drive I-10 bridge project.

As with many capital improvement projects of this magnitude, the Bob Hope Drive project was years in the making. In the time leading up to the September 23, 2011 ribbon cutting, CVAG jurisdictions worked with three different Executive Directors, two different Directors of Transportation, witnessed an unprecedented joining of wills through the involvement of both sovereign government officials and governmental agencies at various levels, which all aligned to see this project come to fruition.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Tribal Council, with the leadership of Chairman Richard Milanovich, envisioned not just a new bridge, but a welcoming gateway to the Reservation, the City of Rancho Mirage, and to the unincorporated Riverside County communities of Sky Valley and Thousand Palms. In 2001, the Tribe commissioned Carol Braaksma of Braaksma Design, Inc to develop designs for the aesthetic treatments to the bridge, the slope paving underneath, and for the terraced landscape planters on either side of the bridge. Visiting the Tribe's history, the artist used imagery derived from Cahuilla baskets that can be found at the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum to this day. The process involved Tribal Staff working with Ms. Braaksma to develop the design concepts that included a basket design (found on the slope paving and fence), corn stalks (found on the bridge fencing), and palm frond images (found on the pillars underneath the bridge) that were reviewed by the Indian Planning Commission and approved by the Tribal Council. 

Tribal Staff also found themselves working closely with CVAG, Riverside County, and Caltrans on engineered plans, design revisions, and funding and maintenance agreements. The Tribe plans on utilizing federal Indian Reservation Road Program funds (SAFETEA-LU funds) for ongoing maintenance of the aesthetic treatments. Through an agreement with Riverside County, the Tribe will reimburse the County for costs associated with the upkeep and maintenance of the aesthetic treatments. Caltrans' responsibility involves any structural repairs that may be needed.

Margaret Park, Director of Planning and Natural Resources, indicated that seeing the Tribe's design of this interchange come to life was due to the vision of the Tribal Council, as well as the efforts of Caltrans District 8 staff, staff from the transportation department of Riverside County, and the support of the Rancho Mirage City Council and the Executive Committee of CVAG.