FRESNO (KMJ) — The days are numbered for a major crossing in Downtown Fresno, as the demolition of the Tuolumne Street bridge has begun.
It’s all to make way for High Speed Rail.
“We need to build a higher bridge that goes over the current railroad tracks and high enough to go over our tracks,” says Regional Director for the Central Valley portion of the project Diana Gomez.
“So this would be the first major construction in Downtown Fresno.”
It’ll be about a year until the new, higher, bridge is in place, and there are a few issues crews will have to be aware of while they work.
“The current Tuolumne goes over the existing Union Pacific so that’s something that the demo company has to be very careful of. That’s why they’re putting up the false work to protect any debris falling on to the tracks,” continues Gomez.
“That’s the one key thing. And then we’ll continue to watch traffic as it comes into Downtown and make any adjustments to our detours.”
There is more work to come to prepare for the bullet train, including a trench under Highway 180 and a viaduct close to where Cedar Avenue crosses over Highway 99.
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew:
