Paving the levee creates Mojave bike path

Here is an article from 2007 about the construction of a concrete bike path along Mojave River levee. I plan to follow up on this to see if this ever happened.

November 07, 2007 10:11 AM
TATIANA PROPHET the Daily Press

VICTORVILLE — By the spring, there will be a concrete bike path along the Mojave River in Victorville, courtesy of San Bernardino County and the city.
Required by the federal government to bolster the flood levee along the river, the county is paying about $800,000 to pave the levee, while the city kicks in about $200,000 for extras like benches, railings and lighting.
“It’s not just going to be a concrete path on top of a levee,” said Victorville City Engineer Sean McGlade.
Stretching for three quarters of a mile from Interstate 15 to Sixth Street, the path will have a cul de sac on the I-15 side, where cyclists can turn around, and a parking lot on the Sixth Street side.
Eventually, it could connect with the city’s long-discussed River Walk Trail, a five-mile route that would run from downtown Victorville through the Mojave Narrows to Victor Valley College.
“This is a great project for High Desert residents,” said 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt in a county press release. “We’re creating an attractive recreational option and improving public safety at the same time.”
Public safety in this case means safety from flooding, which devastated homes on the west side of the river several years ago.
Long a stomping grounds for the area’s homeless, the levee sat graded Wednesday evening as homeless people walked past it along Sixth Street toward their chosen nighttime spot.
“We don’t care about a bike path,” said Brian Wilson, who lays his head every night down by the river. “People are afraid to come down here. If anything, they should put places for people to wash their clothes.”
Cristina Parra, walking to her home on E Street with her children, said it was a good idea.
Right now she does not allow her children to play behind the house at the levee, but in the future she might accompany them to the bike path, she said.
Mayor Terry Caldwell said the city cannot design a facility that is “totally immune” to transients.
“I think it will get heavy use,” he said. “And those who don’t ride bikes or walk, they should go some place else.”
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday awarded a $917,000 contract to Husker Engineering Inc Construction for the levee improvements, which will include raising and strengthening the levee and pouring concrete for the bike path.