Fresno is a construction zone for high speed rail. Time to hit pause on road closures | Opinion

Another week in Fresno, another road closure necessitated by California’s bullet train.

When will the construction headaches end? Probably not until the moment high-speed rail transforms from a future concept into something you can actually purchase tickets for.

In other words, not until 2030 at the absolute earliest, but likely a couple years after that.

Until then, I have a request to the California High Speed Rail Authority, the agency overseeing the most expensive public works project in state history:

Opinion

No more road closures in Fresno until the roads already closed for high-speed rail projects finally reopen.

Is that too much to ask? It shouldn’t be.

Earlier this week, Golden State Boulevard became the latest asphalt casualty of the bullet train when a half-mile stretch between Belmont and Olive avenues bordering Roeding Park permanently closed. The nearby Belmont Circle (California’s first traffic circle) will also be a thing of the past as crews construct an overpass to carry traffic over both the freight tracks and high-speed rail route.

Golden State joins Tulare and Ventura streets in downtown Fresno, which have been closed since 2017 and 2021, respectively, for the construction of underpasses. Both are well behind schedule. And, as reported by The Bee’s Tim Sheehan, the Church Avenue overpass being erected two miles south of downtown is lagging behind as well.

Meanwhile, work continues on the Fresno Trench (a mile-long tunnel running beneath Highway 180, a rail spur and an irrigation canal), an overpass at McKinley Avenue, the realignment of Golden State between Herndon and Shaw avenues and several other projects in Fresno and Madera counties.

Meaning there are enough bullet train construction sites to keep those crews busy for the time being. Without breaking ground on any new ones that would only further inconvenience construction-weary residents.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, a staunch high-speed rail proponent, recently expressed those frustrations during an agency board meeting.

“Quite frankly, I stuck my neck out as mayor to give authorization to have (Church Avenue) closed with the assurance that we would not have delays,” Dyer told board members, “and now we’re months behind.”

Rather than pile on, my simple request to high-speed rail officials is to refrain from adding to their pile of ongoing projects. At least until the ones currently underway are complete.

No end in sight

High-speed rail construction began in earnest in 2015 with the realignment of Highway 99 between the Clinton and Ashlan exits to make room for the new tracks. Nearly a decade later, there’s no end in sight.

Since Fresno will benefit from the bullet train more than anyplace else — both in terms of connectivity to other regions of California and the elimination of grade-level railroad crossings — it’s only fair we endure most of the work-in-progress headaches.

It’s also fair to expect lengthy construction delays, not to mention cost overruns, on a project of such massive scope and with so many moving parts.

Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias said he’s giving rail authorities “quite a bit of grace” even though his district contains most of the road closures and construction sites.

“Every single transportation and infrastructure project is behind schedule, including those being done by the city of Fresno,” Arias said. “It’s part of the cost of rebuilding our city.”

Arias said other government agencies, as well as the Union Pacific Railroad Co., contributed to the delays of high-speed rail projects by asking for improvements and upgrades that are beyond the original scope of work.

“When everything is finished we’re going to get a project that will have a greater benefit to the public,” he said. “But in the meantime we’re going to have to put up with construction and street closures.”

More street closures are on the way. Future grade separation projects at Olive, McKinley, Shaw and Herndon avenues will undoubtedly cause more headaches for residents.

But before the rail authority creates any more construction zones, it should complete the ones already underway. Especially the underpasses that would make downtown whole again. That’s a perfectly reasonable request.