The plan to build a bridge near the intersection of Bogert Trail and South Palm Canyon has been percolating in one form or another for a long time – since 1991, in fact. Below is a timeline, largely extracted from the April 9th, 2025 report from City of Palm Springs Engineering Services.
There’s a log of jargon in there, so here are some acronyms:
- SPC – South Palm Canyon
- LWC – Low Water Crossing
- DE – Dokken Engineering
- RCFC – Riverside County Flood Control
- PS&E – Plans, Specifications, and Estimates for building the bridge
- USFWS – US Fish & Wildlife Service
- WCD – Water Conservation District (specifically, the Riverside County Flood Control Water Conservation District)
- RBC – Reinforced Box Culvert, the concrete structure underneath and supporting the proposed bridge designed to channel water from the drainage field to the pond in the Indian Canyon golf course
- Arenas Canyon – the City of Palm Springs uses the name Arenas Canyon South to refer to what’s now more popularly known as Oswit Canyon.
| Year | Description |
|---|---|
| 2025 | There is no record of public input being solicited for the proposal after June 13, 2024, but the proposal came up again anyway at the April 9, 2025 City Council Meeting (agenda item 1.B). A lot of people showed up to make comments on the project, and even more were submitted via email. Relevant documents: PS City Council 4-9-2025 – Oswit Canyon Bridge – City Engineer Staff Report, Oswit Canyon Bridge Public Comments – April 9, 2025 City Council Meeting, and PS City Council 4-9-2025 – Oswit Canyon Bridge – Dokken Engineering Contract. |
| 2024 | The City of Palm Springs resurrects the Oswit Canyon Bridge project, and discusses it at the June 13, 2024 City Council Meeting (agenda item 3.B, minutes, p. 7), with the intention of approving funds to procure formal bids to build the bridge. This motion was tabled for further public input. This is the report presented at the meeting describing the project by City Manager Scott Stiles. |
| 2020 | Save Oswit Canyon (later converted into the Oswit Land Trust) purchases 114 acres in Oswit Canyon from the developer. The City of Palm Springs, in consideration for its $1M contribution to the purchase, assumed ownership of 3 acres in Oswit Canyon. This is the land where the drainage field and construction traffic detour would be located. The bridge project, like many things, were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| 2017 | Save Oswit Canyon group succeeded in pausing the residential development and the Oswit Canyon Bridge. |
| 2016 | Save Oswit Canyon group formed by Jane Garrison. |
| 2016 | Dokken Engineering submitted 100% PS&E for SPC Drive Bridge Project in November 2016. |
| 2014 | Private developers designed the Eagle Canyon residential development, which included a debris basin and storm drain system that would tie into the proposed culverts designed by Dokken Engineering. The developers ultimately abandoned their pursuit to develop this area. Meanwhile, DE incorporated a concrete energy dissipation system upstream of the RCB into the SPC Drive Bridge Project design. |
| 2012 | JE Fuller/Hydrology & Geomorphology, Inc. developed the Arenas Canyon Stage 2 Active/Inactive Alluvial Fan Assessment for RCFC & WCD. The study was developed to support the Cherly Creek Levee Restoration Project to the north. |
| 2010 | Dokken Engineering coordinated with the USFWS, the City, and adjacent property owners including the golf course to develop design alternatives and ultimate concept selection. |
| 2008 | City contracted Dokken Engineering as the environmental and engineering design consultants to redevelop SPC Drive with a new bridge, culvert, and off-site channel improvements to eliminate the existing Low Water Crossing. |
| 2006 | Ordinance 1681 was passed in part to collect fees to build drainage infrastructure in the Canyon Area. |
| 2005 | City of Palm Springs applied for funding through the Highway Bridge Program (HBP) for construction of a new bridge on SPC Drive after flooding and flood damage occurred at the existing Low Water Crossings. |
| 2005 | Eagle Canyon Redevelopment Project coordinates with RCFC on size of basin and configuration of channel needed for their project, see exhibit with City’s proposed smaller project |
| 2001 | Tettemer & Associates developed the Master Plan of Drainage for the Andreas Alluvial Cone, Dry Canyon, Arenas South and North Canyons, and Palm Canyon (1800 feet downstream of Bogert Trail) Drainage Courses for Palm Canyon, LLC. The Tettemer study was produced to support the development of the ALTA subdivision east of SPC Drive and the necessary flood control improvements. The study would later provide the baseline hydrology for future studies and designs to eliminate the SPC Drive LWC. |
| 1991 | Canyon Redevelopment Project Area was formed to promote development of the area, given the known significant infrastructure needs related to flood control and drainage. The expected infrastructure, including a new bridge at the South Palm Canyon (SPC) SPC Drive Low Water Crossing (LWC), would be too costly to be absorbed by developers. |