A two-mile stretch of one of the busiest highways in the central San Joaquin Valley will have to scoot over by 100 feet to make way for high-speed rail.

The relocation of Highway 99 in west-central Fresno is just one of the big changes in store if the massive rail project is built.

Dozens of railroad crossings would close, and new overpasses and undercrossings would be built on country roads and city streets. With trains moving at up to 220 mph, there won't be any gated railroad crossings on the high-speed line.

On the other hand, some officials say that could ease traffic congestion and cut down on noise from freight train horns.

The roadway changes are among the details packed into 10,000 or so pages of draft environmental-impact reports for the Merced-Fresno and Fresno-Bakersfield sections.

The reports were released last week for 45 days of public comment, and they are sure to generate reaction from affected businesses and residents, as well as city officials across the Valley.

The result would be sweeping changes to the Valley's transportation landscape.

The most visible and dramatic change is likely to be shifting a two-mile portion of Highway 99 between Ashlan and Clinton avenues. That's where the six-lane freeway snuggles up against a Union Pacific Railroad yard, leaving no room to shoehorn the new high-speed tracks into their planned route.

Moving a freeway

City officials worry that shoving Highway 99 westward by 100 feet or so, and closing three offramps in the vicinity, would displace established businesses on the west side of the freeway, and also disrupt traffic on nearby neighborhood streets.

"When they move it over, they are proposing to eliminate southbound ramps at Dakota, Shields and Princeton avenues," City Engineer Scott Mozier said. "We're worried about access in that area."

"If we're going to support closing those ramps, both Clinton and Ashlan need to be able to handle the added traffic," Mozier said. "And that's not just the freeway on- and offramps, but the local street pattern. ... As we start to look at streets like Brawley, Valentine, Marks and Shields avenues, there may be improvements necessary."

And the city likely will be looking to the rail authority to shoulder the cost of that work.

The rail authority estimates it would cost about $142 million to rebuild the two-mile portion of freeway. Authority representatives don't know yet if Caltrans, the state's highway department, would be asked to share a portion of the cost.

But Caltrans may not have the money. Even without a high-speed rail line, the agency has been talking about closing the Dakota and Princeton ramps, Mozier said, "but they have not had any funding to deal with that."

Elsewhere in Fresno, the rail authority plans to shift a 4.5-mile stretch of Golden State Boulevard between Herndon and Ashlan avenues, and to close another portion of Golden State between Olive and Belmont avenues next to Roeding Park. South of downtown Fresno, portions of G Street and Railroad Avenue could be closed.

Those streets aren't particularly scenic, "but there are a number of vibrant, industrial-type businesses out there, they employ a lot of folks, and they are critical to the local economy," Mozier said. They include trucking depots, warehouses, metal fabricators, automotive and diesel repair facilities and other industrial enterprises.

The city expects the authority to compensate businesses affected by the project, including relocation assistance if they are forced to move. "The city also definitely wants to see those businesses retained in the local community," Mozier added.