Update: New overpass brings changes for drivers in Fresno beginning Wednesday

Tim Sheehan

UPDATE: The city of Fresno said Monday’s rain caused a delay in opening the new overpass that is part of the Veterans Boulevard project.

The opening is now set for 9 a.m. Wednesday. Also, Carnegie Avenue is now set to closs at 10 a.m. Wednesday, the city said.

ORIGINAL STORY: A new overpass that is part of the broader Veterans Boulevard project in northwest Fresno will open to traffic on Monday morning, offering a safer way for drivers to cross the Union Pacific Railroad tracks to reach Golden State Boulevard.

Also on Monday, the nearby Carnegie Avenue at-grade railroad crossing between Bullard Avenue/Riverside Drive and Golden State Boulevard will permanently close to traffic.

The city of Fresno announced Friday the partial opening of Veterans Boulevard with the completion of the overpass. In addition to spanning above the existing Union Pacific freight railroad tracks and Golden State, the structure will also accommodate future tracks for California’s high-speed rail route through northwest Fresno.

The long-range plan for Veterans Boulevard is to provide a faster, safer route for residents and commuters to cross east and west of Highway 99 with the grade-separated rail crossing, trails and bike lanes. The project, which spans from Shaw Avenue west of Highway 99 to Herndon Avenue east of the highway, includes a new Veterans Boulevard interchange at Highway 99 to ease commute-hour congestion at Herndon and Shaw avenues.

Earlier this year, a short segment of Veterans Boulevard opened between Shaw and Barstow avenues, west of the freeway. Another short stretch between Riverside Drive and Hughes Avenue, east of Golden State Boulevard, is expected to reopen to drivers in early October.

The closure of the at-grade rail crossing at Carnegie Avenue – for years the only railroad crossing between Shaw and Herndon avenues – will require drivers to begin using the new Veterans Boulevard overpass and ramp to get to and from Golden State Boulevard.

The entirety of the 2.5-mile Veterans Boulevard project, from Shaw and Grantland avenues to Herndon and Polk avenues, is expected to be completed in November 2023.

The $140 million project was first proposed by the city in 1984. Among the sources of money to pay for it are about $47 million from Measure C, Fresno County’s half-cent transportation sales tax; about $28 million from the California High-Speed Rail Authority; $10.5 million from a federal BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) grant; and more than $40 million in fees paid by developers to offset the effects of their projects on neighborhoods.

A new overpass that is part of the broader Veterans Boulevard project in northwest Fresno will open to traffic on Monday at 9 a.m., offering a safer way for drivers to cross the Union Pacific Railroad tracks to reach Golden State Boulevard. Photographed Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022 in Fresno.
A new overpass that is part of the broader Veterans Boulevard project in northwest Fresno will open to traffic on Monday at 9 a.m., offering a safer way for drivers to cross the Union Pacific Railroad tracks to reach Golden State Boulevard. Photographed Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022 in Fresno.
The $140 million Veterans Boulevard project was first proposed by the city in 1984. Among the sources of money to pay for it are about $47 million from Measure C, Fresno County’s half-cent transportation sales tax; about $28 million from the California High-Speed Rail Authority; $10.5 million from a federal BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) grant; and more than $40 million in fees paid by developers to offset the effects of their projects on neighborhoods.

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