Commuters pass under $171,000 worth of freeway art

Last month, the Temecula City Council announced that the metal art that now decorates the southern side of the Overland Drive Bridge, over Interstate 15, has been completed. The artwork has been praised for its beauty by some and criticized for its cost by others.

The artwork, made of various metals, depicts rolling hills with the silhouettes of clouds and hot air balloons. The center panel depicts the sun shining down on the word “Temecula.”

“[The artwork shows] Temecula’s a little bit different – that they care about the appearance of our community,” said Chris Tyler, a Temecula resident who drives under the art regularly. “It’s better than some ghetto-looking chain link fence.”

The cost of the art work – $170,998.43 – would be better spent helping small businesses survive the current economic condition, said P.T. Rothschild, a Temecula resident and blogger on http://www.fullvaluereview.com.

“It’s a safety hazard because it draws your eyes away from traffic,” he said in an interview last week. “The city spends money willy-nilly on whatever they want.”

The project started when Council members Mike Naggar and Maryann Edwards decided to find ways to improve the looks of the city’s infrastructure.

Their decisions led to the addition of the center median on Temecula Parkway – then called Highway 79 South – which includes flowers, trees and monument signs.

“The shows people the flavor of Temecula and says something about our love for art in public places,” said Edwards in an interview Monday. “It’s a way to make a statement about who we are.”

The first official step toward the project came on May 8, 2007 when the City Council awarded the $168,281.80 construction contract to Premier Fabrication and Welding, Inc. The city approved the final design on October 23, 2007.

The project included fabrication and installation of 300 linear feet of architectural enhancement panels that the contractor fastened to the bridge’s fence.

The final cost of the project was increased by $2,726.63 due to a change order.

“We want to be fiscally responsible but also aesthetically pleasing,” Edwards said. She said that public beautification projects discourage vandalism.

The city is currently looking into ways of beautifying the upcoming French Valley interchange, which will likely include stamped concrete. This will give the usually plain concrete sides the looks of a medieval castle, said Edwards.

She believes making the infrastructure easier on the eye during the planning phase is cheaper than doing it later, or paying for constant graffiti removal.