Part of Herndon Avenue closed in Fresno. It’s tied to opening Veterans Boulevard
Drivers heading east on Herndon Avenue, long a major east-west thoroughfare in northwest Fresno, now have to get used to a new traffic pattern with a closure of a half-mile stretch of the road.
Monday marked the first day of a new traffic pattern between Hayes and Polk avenues where drivers are being diverted to a now-completed stretch of the new Veterans Boulevard project. A short distance east of Hayes, new lanes nudge drivers slightly to the south, where the road ties in with part of the new boulevard. A left turn eventually brings drivers back to Herndon where it intersections with Polk Avenue.
But at least one driver managed to take out part of the traffic equipment intended to keep cars from heading straight on the now-closed portion of Herndon, destroying the first section of a soft barrier on the first day of the new traffic pattern.
The closed lanes of Herndon will ultimately be demolished as part of the broader, $140 million Veterans Boulevard project.
Veterans Boulevard is intended to provide a faster, safer route for residents and commuters to cross east and west of Highway 99 and ease peak commute congestion at Herndon and Shaw avenues. When fully opened, it will flow diagonally from Shaw and Grantland avenues west of the freeway to Herndon and Polk avenues.
The overall project includes a new freeway interchange on Highway 99 about a mile south of the existing Herndon Avenue on- and off-ramps. There’s also an overpass for a grade-separated rail crossing over the existing Union Pacific Railroad tracks and a future high-speed rail route, as well as trails and bike lanes.
The 2.5-mile Veterans Boulevard project, first proposed about 40 years ago, is expected to be completed in November 2023.
This story was originally published August 7, 2023 at 2:59 PM.
