California High-Speed Rail Reaches New Construction Milestone
A four-lane overpass has opened near Roeding Park in Fresno that will allow the currently under-construction California High-Speed Rail line to pass under West Belmont Avenue according to local newspaper The Fresno Bee.
Newsweek contacted the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which is overseeing the project, for comment on Friday via email outside of regular office hours.
Construction is underway on the California High-Speed Rail line, which is intended to link Los Angeles and San Francisco. A number of proposed high-speed rail projects are in the works across the United States, and former Obama-era transportation secretary Ray LaHood told Newsweek these could be unlocked if California High-Speed Rail turns out to be a success.
However the scheme has attracted the ire of President Donald Trump, who branded it a "green disaster." Earlier in June the Federal Railroad Administration released a 315-page report criticizing the project for missed deadlines and arguing it still has a budget shortfall.
The Fresno Bee reported that this week a four lane overpass was completed for West Belmont Avenue taking the road over the Union Pacific rail line at Weber Avenue, as well as the under construction California High-Speed Rail line.
Work on the overpass, which is 62 feet wide and over 610 feet long, began in 2022.
Another overpass over the high speed rail line was recently opened between Maple and Cedar avenues in southern Fresno, called the Central Avenue grade separation.
Earlier in June the California High-Speed Rail Authority said work had been completed on 55 infrastructure projects, such as road overpasses, being built to facilitate the new rail line with the laying of track expected to begin later this year.
Finished projects include the 4,741-foot San Joaquin River Viaduct in Fresno along with the Hanford Viaduct situated in Kings County.
According to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, the line currently under construction will allow passengers to travel between San Franciso and the Los Angeles basin in less than three hours, with speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour on some sections. The eventual plan is to extend the line to Sacramento and San Diego.
In a recent statement the California High-Speed Rail Authority said: "Construction progresses every day on the California high-speed rail project. In addition to continued progress across the Central Valley, the Authority also announced the completion of four grade separations at Fargo Avenue and Whitley Avenue in Kings County, and at Belmont Avenue and Central Avenue in Fresno County…
"Since the start of high-speed rail construction, the project has created more than 15,300 good paying construction jobs, a majority going to residents of the Central Valley. As many as 1,700 workers are dispatched to a high-speed rail construction site daily."
In January California Governor Gavin Newsom said: "No state in America is closer to launching high-speed rail than California."
Planners hope the California High-Speed Rail line will open for customers at some point between 2030 and 2033.
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