New stretch of Veterans Boulevard opens in ‘Forgotten Fresno.’ Here’s what happens next
The next stretch of the long-awaited Veterans Boulevard has opened, extending to Barstow Avenue, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer announced Wednesday.
The new roadway stretches from Shaw Avenue to Barstow Avenue. The remaining phases of the project, which would take the road to Herndon Avenue, are either under construction or about to begin. The project is scheduled to be complete and open to traffic by the end of next year.
The $140 million project was first proposed by the city in 1984. The first stretch of the boulevard was completed in 2019, when it was celebrated as the first phase of what will ultimately be a 2.5-mile connection from Herndon and Polk avenues, east of Highway 99, to Shaw and Grantland avenues, west of the freeway.
The project is important for residents in the community, sometimes dubbed “forgotten Fresno,” since it’s essentially cut off by Highway 99 from major thoroughfares in the city. The completion of Veterans Boulevard will connect the community to the rest of town.
Councilmember Mike Karbassi, who represents District 2, which includes parts of Highway City, said the completion of Veterans Boulevard has been a top priority since he took office.
“Residents on both sides of Highway 99 have waited decades for progress to be made. We are now making leaps toward a full opening,” Karbassi said. “This means shorter trips to the doctor’s office or a grocery store. Our public works staff is working hard to ensure full opening is on time and under budget.”
The newly completed portion of the project includes more than just the roadway. It also included construction of curb and gutter, storm drainage systems, an irrigation canal box culvert, new sewer, and water mains, a multipurpose asphalt trail, and a new traffic signal at Shaw Avenue and Veterans Boulevard.
The latest stretch of Veterans Boulevard cost about $7.1 million from several local, state, and federal funding sources.
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 5:00 AM.