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Residents seek to pave alternate to Route 66 |
By CHUCK MUELLER, Staff Writer
San Bernadino County Sun
HELENDALE - Historic Route 66 has its charm and heavy traffic as well and residents of a suburban lakeside community want to find a better and safer way to get to work and back home again.
"People love the nostalgia of Route 66, and they love to live in Silver Lakes,' retiree Chuck Goodwin says. "But to get here, the drive is horrible.'
He is among many residents of the Helendale-Silver Lakes area who want to pave a 10-mile segment of Helendale Road as an alternate route to and from Victorville. The segment parallels the Mojave River's west bank, across the stream from Route 66 more often referred to as National Trails Highway here.
"We estimate it would cost from $4 million to $6 million to pave the two-lane dirt road to help relieve congestion on Route 66,' said John Sonneborn, co-chairman of a citizens committee spearheading the paving project.
He was among the 75 residents who met Friday at the Silver Lakes Club House with county and congressional representatives to discuss ways to pay for the project.
"Our area is growing, and we have no choice but to improve access to Silver Lakes,' said committee co-chairwoman Lynn Garvanian. "Some county road funds are earmarked for the Helendale area.'
San Bernardino County's Transportation Facilities Plan, funded through a $1,935 per-dwelling property assessment, includes about $800,000 for the Helendale area, said David Zook, a field aide to Bill Postmus, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, who represents the 1st District.
Two aides to Rep. Howard "Buck' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, offered to help the residents find funds.
"We will be working with local officials next month to establish transportation priorities,' said Scott Wilk, who is McKeon's 25th Congressional District director.
Field aide Lew Stults, based in Palmdale, told the Silver Lakes residents to present a roadway plan and estimate of costs to McKeon, who also represents the Victorville area.
"We're here to do whatever we can, and we will look into your proposal,' he said. "But we can't promise anything.'
Dennis Morris, field aide to Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, said he would also work with residents to resolve the traffic quandary. Runner also represents the Victorville area.
National Trails Highway often is bogged down with car and truck traffic and occasionally is designated as a detour route when freeway crashes close Interstate 15 between Victorville and Barstow.
"Cars backed up at the railroad crossing on Vista Road (at the entrance to Silver Lakes), creates an intolerable situation,' retired Barstow College instructor Richard Reeb said.
Another Silver Lakes resident, Joe Jarvis, fears the Mojave River bridge on Vista Road, now rain-swollen from last week's storms, will not endure another cloudburst.
"We should pave Helendale Road now,' he said. "There will be an additional 2,000 to 3,000 new homes in Silver Lakes over the next decade, and we need another way in and out.'
About 7,500 people live in the lakeside community midway between Victorville and Barstow. An estimated 800 residents commute daily to jobs outside Helendale.
"National Trails Highway is a near disaster for many of us,' said Bill Linnemeyer, a board member of the Silver Lakes Association.
"Constantly people complain about pot holes and broken windshields. And every year, rains flood the road in (nearby) Oro Grande. But it's our only access route, and we've got to find another way.' |
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