Project Overview

The Yucca Loma Bridge is the Town of Apple Valley’s number one Transportation Improvement Priority.  While recent improvements on Apple Valley Road have eased congestion for motorists traveling north or south along Apple Valley Road, this relief is only temporary.  Severe congestion still exists on Bear Valley Road, in the vicinity of the I-15 Interchange, and along several segments of Highway 18, and congestion will return to Apple Valley Road if alternate east/west corridors are not developed in theVictor Valley region.  The Yucca Loma Bridge/Yates Road/Green Tree Boulevard Project is the long awaited additional east/west corridor in the Victor Valley Region. 

For Apple Valley residents, the Yucca Loma Bridge is an investment in the future of our community, and will ease travel and goods movement in and through our neighborhoods.  It will mitigate future congestion along Apple Valley Road by redistributing traffic between three evenly spaced east/west corridors instead of the existing two, that are several miles apart.  For residents and businesses in the south/eastern areas of Victorville, Hesperia, and San Bernardino County, and anyone who depends on Bear Valley Road to reach work, access shopping and dining destinations, and deliver goods and services, the Yucca Loma Bridge/ La Mesa/Nisqually Interchange corridor, is the only developed today that will ease congestion along Bear Valley Road. 

Just how much impact will the Yucca Loma Bridge have on present day Bear Valley Road congestion?

To help quantify the actual benefit that the Yucca Loma Bridge/ La Mesa/ Nisqually Interchange will have on existing traffic congestion along Bear Valley Road, the Town of Apple Valley retained the services of Iteris Transportation Systems, Inc., a Traffic Engineering Consultant.  Iteris was commissioned to create a computer generated traffic simulation, using accepted traffic volume projection data from the Victor Valley Area Transportation Study, (VVATS), recently completed by SANBAG and approved by Caltrans.  Using this existing approved data, a computer model was created that demonstrates traffic conditions on Bear Valley Road, before and after the Yucca Loma Bridge/La Mesa/ Nisqually Interchange is placed in service. The outcome is dramatic.

Fortunately, the recent long term traffic mitigation improvements on Apple Valley Road have significantly reduced congestion in Apple Valley.  By increasing capacity and adding a free-right-turn, and four new traffic signals, the congestion on Apple Valley Road has been reduced to a tolerable level.  However the time will come when no amount of capacity enhancing improvements can accommodate the traffic volumes that will occur on Apple Valley Road. Only the re-distribution of traffic along a new east/west corridor will prevent congestion from returning.  Unfortunately, this is not the case for Bear Valley Road. West of the Mojave River, Bear Valley Road has reached a saturation point where few, if any, additional capacity enhancing modifications are available.  Only the re-distribution of traffic along a new east/west corridor will reduce congestion along Bear Valley Road, and the project that can provide that congestion relief is the Yucca Loma Bridge/ Yates Road/Green Tree Boulevard/ La Mesa/ Nisqually Interchange.

The multi-jurisdictional Yucca Loma Bridge/Yates Road/Green Tree Boulevard Project is nearing completion of the Environmental Studies and Preliminary Engineering phase of the project.  The challenges ahead are largely related to funding. Since project inception, the Town of Apple Valley has been proactively developing funding mechanisms and financial strategies that will allow construction to commence within our jurisdictional portion of the project as soon as approvals and permits can be obtained.  While funding short-falls still persist, Apple Valley has secured adequate funding for our portion to begin construction in Spring 2010.  Our partner jurisdictions of Victorville and San Bernardino County face financial challenges of their own, and while work is progressing, the prioritization of available funds for this project will require an ongoing effort. In the endeavor to secure and maintain funding commitments, community support is of critical importance.  The most effective way that residents and businesses can help in this regard is to let their elected representatives in each respective jurisdiction continuously hear that this project is of top priority importance, and needs their ongoing commitment for completion.

This is the long awaited project whose time has come. We just need to make it happen.