Parkway, Town Center drive to remain closed through January

By Matthew Cabe
Staff Writer

APPLE VALLEY — Residents in Jess Ranch concerned about the inaccessibility of the community’s main entrance must wait a while longer before Jess Ranch Parkway reopens to traffic.

That road and Town Center Drive were closed beginning in mid-October for storm drain and roadway improvements and were expected to reopen on Dec. 21, but that date has been pushed, tentatively, to Jan. 29, according to Steve Ford of Pulte Homes.

Ford addressed the on-going construction work Tuesday at the Town Council’s first meeting of the new year.

“We had hoped to be at early completion for the entry there at Town Center Drive and the Jess Ranch renovation on the roadways,” he said. “However, there were two water lines that no one knew about that when they opened them up, unbeknownst to us, that flooded out all of our flood control storm drain systems that were on Town Center Drive … It flooded the whole intersection. And so we lost really three weeks to four weeks of time. And then the rains hit, obviously, and we lost another two weeks there.”

The intersection had not been properly maintained for years, and the Jess Ranch Master Homeowners Association had no maintenance or money to provide for the facilities and Jess Ranch Parkway, according to Ford.

After 10 years, Ford said, the two associations — Jess Ranch Master Homeowners Association and the Del Webb HOA — worked on an agreement that provides for full maintenance of the roads and the systems.

“And so Del Webb has stepped up and is actually paying for the renovation to Jess Ranch Parkway,” he added. “All of the gates are being renovated. All of the entry access systems are being renovated. The north gatehouse is being renovated. So you’ll see just a complete cosmetic makeover out there that is structurally sound.”

Councilman Art Bishop lauded the work and reserved special praise for a new access system for emergency response vehicles.

“The barcode system for our emergency vehicles — our police department, our fire department, our medical — I think that’s a fantastic idea because ... we’d have problems with the encoders. The batteries would die or the tape would drop off for something, so I love your idea and I encourage you to get with all of our emergency providers and get those done.”

Bishop also noted that Town Center Drive, once the road improvements are complete, will meet all the requirements to be included into the town’s system.

For Jess Ranch residents, however, Jan. 29 won’t come too soon as the improvement project and subsequent road closures have served as thorns in their collective side.

Because amid the closures, Jess Ranch’s back gate, which leads to Apple Valley Road, has become the main artery in and out of the community, and several residents previously told the Daily Press the intersection where Apple Valley Road and Jess Ranch Parkway meet is a hazard for drivers attempting to turn left onto Apple Valley Road.

Trees located in the center divider situated to the right of Jess Ranch Parkway diminish visibility and traffic along both sides of Apple Valley Road moves fast, residents said.

Jess Ranch board members called for a four-way stop to be installed at the intersection prior to the road closures when they attended a Town Council meeting several years ago and brought a petition to the Council signed by 260 Jess Ranch residents who wanted the four-way stop.

The potential for traffic control at the intersection is unlikely though because five recordable accidents must take place at the intersection before a change can be considered.

When construction began, resident Nancy Strong asked a town staffer if a stop sign could be reconsidered, but was told the intersection would be studied when things were “normal,” according to a previous Daily Press report.

“The intersection is still dangerous with fast traffic and poor visibility, and now lots more traffic," Strong said at the time.

Town Spokeswoman Kathie Martin previously told the Daily Press that town staff and the sheriff’s department would continue to monitor the location until the project’s completion.

— Matthew Cabe can be reached at MCabe@VVDailyPress.com or at 760-951-6254. Follow him on Twitter @DP_MatthewCabe.