Video: Another icon falls for high-speed rail

Another longtime Fresno business icon is falling to make way for California’s high-speed train project.

Demolition began Monday at the old Kerr Rug Co. building at the southwest corner of Ventura and G streets by subcontractors for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The building, built in 1950, stands where workers eventually will build an underpass to carry Ventura Street traffic under the high-speed train tracks as well as the existing Union Pacific Railroad freight tracks at the south edge of Fresno’s historic Chinatown district.

The work is part of the rail authority’s Construction Package 1, a 29-mile stretch from Fresno to Madera. The adjacent sidewalks and traffic lanes of Ventura and G streets will be closed through about Aug. 6.

Kerr Rug Co. sold the property in 2010 to Fresno’s city Housing Authority.

This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Video: Another icon falls for high-speed rail."