California Construction News staff writer
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA), in collaboration with contractor Tutor-Perini/Zachry/Parsons, says the Avenue 15 ½ Grade Separation in Madera County is now open to traffic.
In addition, the board also approved the environmental documents for the San Francisco to San Jose project section, meaning 422 of the 500-mile high-speed rail system between San Francisco and Los Angeles has been environmentally cleared.
The new overpass is located at Road 29/Santa Fe Drive, east of the City of Madera. It took 16 pre-cast concrete girders and nearly 117 pre-cast concrete deck panels to complete the structure, which spans 468 feet, is 40 feet wide and takes traffic over the existing BNSF rail and future high-speed rail lines.
Completing another structure in the Central Valley is the latest sign of progress for the high-speed rail project. At its Board of Directors meeting earlier this month, the CHSRA awarded two contracts to advance design along the Merced to Madera and Fresno to Bakersfield Locally Generated Alternative project sections, expanding the 119-mile segment to 171 miles of electrified high-speed rail under development and construction.
Earlier this summer, the CHSRA announced the creation of more than 8,000 jobs since the start of the project, with a majority going to residents in the Central Valley.
