More Fresno roads, lanes closing due to high-speed rail work. Here’s where to avoid
The ongoing construction on California’s high-speed rail route through the central San Joaquin Valley is creating some road and lane closures in Fresno that drivers may want to avoid over the coming weeks and months.
In downtown Fresno, the biggest disruptions remain the full closures of Ventura Street and Tulare Street for construction of new underpasses to carry traffic on both roads beneath not only the future high-speed train tracks but also below the existing Union Pacific Railroad freight tracks.
Tulare Street has been closed between F and G streets since May 2021, and nearby China Alley is closed just south of Tulare Street. According to the California High-Speed Rail Authority and Tutor Perini / Zachry / Parsons, the agency’s prime contractor for work in the Fresno area, work on that site is expected to be completed by the end of March.
A few blocks to the south, Ventura Street has been completely closed between F and H streets since last May, and work on that underpass is forecast to continue through the end of 2022.
Elsewhere along or near the rail route from northwest Fresno toward downtown, it’s not construction on the bullet-train line itself that is forcing road or lane closures, but work to relocate utilities such as phone, cable and power lines that are being disrupted or displaced. Those sites include:
- Thorne Avenue, lane closures between Napa and Nielsen avenues, east of Highway 99 and north of Highway 180. That work began on Feb. 21 and will continue through March 4.
- Shaw and Cornelia avenues in northwest Fresno, where Cornelia Avenue is closed between Shaw and Santa Ana avenues, with lane closures on Shaw between Forestiere Avenue and Golden State Boulevard. The work began on Feb. 22 and will continue through March 17.
- Weber and Herndon avenues in northwest Fresno, where Weber Avenue is closed between Herndon and Farrington Street. The work began Feb. 1 and continues through March 18.
- Golden State Boulevard and Kathryn Avenue, north of Herndon Avenue in northwest Fresno, where Kathryn Avenue is closed south of Golden State. Work began Jan. 10 and continues through March 22.
- Shaw and Jennifer avenues, east of Golden State Boulevard in northwest Fresno. Jennifer Avenue is closed between Shaw and Gates avenues, and Shaw Avenue has lane closures between Jennifer and El Capitan avenues. Work began Feb. 14 and continues through April 25.
- Golden State Boulevard south of Shaw Avenue in northwest Fresno. There are multiple lane closures along Golden State between Shaw and Swift avenues, and Richert Avenue is closed west of Golden State. The work began Feb. 16 and continues through May 27.
Signs are in place at all of the work sites to guide motorists through the area or direct them to detours around the work. At most of the sites, access is being maintained for property owners and businesses, according to the rail authority.
More information on road closures in Fresno and Fresno County, and elsewhere along the route in Madera, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties, is available online at BuildHSR.com.
