‘Sigh of relief.’ Southwest Fresno road gets first major update in 30 years
A segment of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in southwest Fresno is getting its first major roadwork upgrade in over 30 years.
Construction began Monday to repave a one-mile portion of the road from Jensen Avenue to North Avenue and will continue through mid-August. The $1 million project involves removing asphalt, installing new base rock and pavement, adding bike lanes and a left-turn lane.
The roadway had not been paved since 1995. Repaving of the stretch had long been anticipated and advocated for by the area’s church leaders and other southwest Fresno community members, who joined Mayor Jerry Dyer at a media gathering Tuesday to announce it.
Wilbur Clark, senior pastor of the Ebenezer Community Church of God in Christ, described the project as a “sigh of relief” to The Bee.
“We as pastors can relay to the community and to the people here to have more confidence in our city leaders because they are getting things done all over Fresno,” Clark said.
The stretch of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard being repaved is considered a high-traffic corridor by the city, and had been classified as poor or very poor on the pavement condition index rating, according to Dyer.
“As a result, we have filled in hundreds and hundreds of potholes on this stretch of roadway alone,” Dyer said. “That ends today as we are taking steps to completely rebuild Martin Luther King Boulevard.”
The project was funded entirely through Measure C, Fresno County’s sales tax supplement for transportation projects.
The city receives around $8 million annually through Measure C, according to Fresno’s Director of Public Works, Scott Mozier. The $1 million allocation for Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was made based on community outreach and poor road conditions, he said.
This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 4:20 PM.