High Desert Corridor project seeks engineering bids

FROM STAFF REPORTS
Daily Press

Planners for the High Desert Corridor, which one day will link the Victor Valley and Palmdale, are now seeking bids from engineering firms to outline how the project can be financed and built.

The expressway would improve travel safety, spur economic growth across the High Desert and divert truck traffic from Southern California freeways and High Desert highways, proponents say.

“The High Desert Corridor is a giant step closer to becoming a reality,” said 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt. “It is my goal to have this highway built within 10 years, but it can’t happen soon enough.”

The corridor, also known as the E220, will be a crucial element for creating an “inland port” complex.

It will connect to a separate project currently spearheaded by the city of Victorville that will link Interstate 15 to Highway 395, including a connection with Southern California Logistics Airport and, in a later extension, to Highway 18 through Apple Valley.

BNSF Railway Company is developing a large railroad yard complex at Southern California Logistics Airport, the former George Air Force Base.

Multi-modal freight distribution centers such as SCLA are vital to lessening dependency on the Los Angeles basin for goods movement and keeping pace with the global economy.