What's at stake?
With billions of infrastructure funding pouring into the Fresno area, many of everyone’s well-worn routes to drive, walk and bike are getting a makeover.
An onslaught of transportation projects are underway in the Fresno region, meaning drivers, cyclists and pedestrians can expect to see various improvements to highways, roads and trails in the near future.
Many of these projects have been years in the making, but roadwork in Fresno is finally progressing due to a combination of funding from state and federal grants and revenue from two sales-tax measures – Measure C and Measure P.
Measure C, approved by Fresno County voters in 1986, raises money for transportation projects through a half-cent sales tax. But its future is uncertain. The tax is scheduled to expire in 2027 unless voters decide to extend it. Last year, it failed to win the two-thirds support needed to pass. Measure C is expected to go before voters in 2026, giving it one more chance to win the support needed to keep the tax in place.
Measure P, approved by a simple majority of voters in 2018, uses a three-eighth-cent sales tax in Fresno to pay for parks, trails and other recreational and cultural projects. The multi-million dollar tax requires voter approval again after 30 years.
Below are some of the most significant transportation projects underway or in the works around Fresno.
Highway and Road Expansions
South Fresno 99 Corridor Project
Currently, motorists getting onto or off Highway 99 near Malaga, south of downtown Fresno, have to do so by using various ramps at North Avenue, Cedar Avenue and American Avenue.
The corridor project aims to close the Cedar ramp and replace the two so-called “half interchanges” at North and American avenues with their own full interchanges.
The roadwork in Fresno is expected to improve traffic flow and easier access to the industrial area along the highway that draws heavy truck use.
Not only will the project make for a smoother, more efficient commute, but it will also install sidewalks, curbs, lighting and other amenities to comply with standards required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to the California Department of Transportation.
With a cumulative budget ranging from $119 million to $146 million, work on the American Avenue portion is slated to be completed in May 2027 and the North Avenue portion in December 2028.
However, the project may be complicated by a lawsuit alleging that Caltrans, in conducting its environmental review for the work, ignored the impact a planned industrial park will have on air quality. Residents say the park will draw additional truck traffic, increasing pollution.
41 Ashlan to Shaw Auxiliary Lane
Travel on Highway 41 near Fashion Fair is about to become less stressful due to the addition of a lane for northbound drivers merging onto or off the highway. Caltrans is installing an auxiliary lane between the northbound sections of Ashlan Avenue and Shaw Avenue. It’s also widening the off-ramp at Shaw to two lanes.
Caltrans says the project will ease congestion on a stretch of the highway that has seen frequent rear-end collisions.
Construction is estimated to cost roughly $13.4 million and be completed December 2024.
Removal of the Belmont and McKinley Interchanges on Highway 99
Another ambitious project from Caltrans is slated for Fresno’s 99 corridor: a massive ‘rehabilitation’ project, which would permanently remove the Belmont and McKinley interchanges, and enhance the Olive Avenue interchange. The project would also widen the freeway from three lanes in each direction to four between El Dorado and Clinton Avenues.
The project costs a total of $260 million. Construction is estimated to begin around September of 2024 and finish by the end of 2029.
Veterans Boulevard
The Veterans Boulevard Project encompasses a variety of changes including the construction of a new six-lane “super” roadway in northwest Fresno, an interchange at Highway 99, with a grade separation for future rail lines for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, according to the City of Fresno.
The project will also add a north and south extension of Veterans Boulevard to Herndon Avenue along with a 12-foot-wide trail for bicyclists and pedestrians and installation of a new technology that will synchronize lights and manage flow of traffic more precisely in an effort to decrease congestion.
Broken down into five phases, the project was finished ahead of schedule on Nov. 21 with a budget of $138.3 million, according to Public Works Director Scott Mozier.
Safety Projects
BNSF Blackstone McKinley Project
This project will add a double grade railroad separation at the busy intersection and will eliminate the existing at-grade crossing of the BNSF tracks at North Blackstone and East McKinley, near Fresno City College.
The city cited heavy traffic flow and a goal to decrease pedestrian-vehicle accidents as well as railroad delays as the reason for the update.
The roadwork in Fresno will cost $151.9 million, with $80 million coming from a state grant from Gov. Gavin Newsom. Construction is expected to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2028, according to The Fresno Bee.
Safer Pedestrian Pathways to Several Local Schools
Students of Muir Elementary School in the south Tower District will soon have an easier time getting to class.
Sidewalks are currently being added to Dennett, Elizabeth, and Dudley Avenues in the vicinity of the school, along with curb and gutter for stormwater drainage.
A traffic light is also in the process of being installed at Palm and Dennett Avenues.
Traffic lights are also being installed at:
- McKinley and San Pablo Avenues, near Heaton Elementary;
- Blackstone and Webster Avenues, near Susan B. Anthony Elementary;
- Fresno Street and Browning Avenue, near Robinson Elementary; and, at
- Church and Walnut Avenues, near the West Fresno City College Campus and Gaston Middle School.
Roadwork in Fresno includes new sidewalks added along Knight Avenue, south of Gaston Middle School – as well as along Tulare Avenue, between Sixth Street and Cedar Avenue, near Jackson and Rowell Elementary.
Protected Bike Lanes, Bike Boxes, and Decreased Speed Limits
Protected bike lanes and green bike boxes are just one of the latest efforts from the city to keep cyclists and vehicles safe.
Drivers are expected to wait behind the bike boxes when there’s a cyclist present; these new measures will be seen at plenty of intersections throughout Fresno, with more on the way.
Some streets like Palm Avenue, from H street to Dakota Avenue, or Van Ness Avenue, near Fresno City College, have gotten tighter as the city aims to cut them down from two lanes to one in each direction, with a bike lane separated by car traffic through bollards. Wishon and Fulton Streets and Barstow Avenue are also in the process of upgrading to safer bike lanes.
Protected bike lanes are also planned for segments of Belmont Avenue, in the south Tower neighborhood; Blackstone Avenue, between Shields and Divisadero; and Abby Avenue, from Hedges to Divisadero, according to the city’s Active Transportation Plan.
New, striped bike lanes (without bollards) are also coming to Tulare Avenue, between Sixth Street and Cedar Avenue.
You’ll also notice new posted speed limits on busy streets like Friant from Audubon to Shepard, where the limit dropped from 50 to 45 mph.
Sixteen other sections of Fresno are expected to receive the same treatment. A full list of the speed limit changes can be found here.
Mozier told Fresnoland that increased traffic was the main reason for changing these speed limits after extensive engineering and traffic research.
“Each of these transportation projects has unique elements,” Mozier said. “But overall these projects serve to improve mobility, reduce congestion, improve safety, provide more choices for active transportation and improve quality of life in Fresno.”
Downtown and Chinatown Street Improvements
While high-speed rail construction continues to create a headache for Chinatown businesses, with multiple street closures, more major road projects are in the works to make both sides of the tracks a more walkable, development-friendly environment.
On the downtown side, after a few decades of being closed, Merced Street, between Congo Alley and H Street – right in front of the historic Hotel Fresno – is slated to reopen, along with the segment of Broadway Street that is currently closed, in front of the IRS building.
Many streets in Chinatown will be getting a makeover due to the state’s Transformative Climate Communities grant, including F, Mariposa, Kern Streets, and China Alley, with new sidewalks, streetlights, and street trees.
Trails
Midtown Trail
The pedestrian and bike trail will connect the 7 miles from the Fresno Area Express Hub at Manchester Center to the Clovis Old Town Trail near Shields and Clovis Avenues.
Shields Avenue between Fresno and First Street (Segment 2) and Clovis Avenue between McKinley and Shields (Segment 5) are now open to the public with Segments 1, 3 and 4 all in various stages of construction.
The $9.5 million project was funded through Measure C and Measure P and the entire trail is expected to be completed in 2026, per Scott Mozier.
Southwest Fresno Trail
This project will install a Class I trail exclusive to pedestrians and cyclists along Fanning Ditch from the intersection of South West Avenue at West Florence Avenue to the intersection of East California Avenue and South Thorne Avenue. The project will also install 102 trees to increase the tree canopy in the area and include trail and street lighting.
Transform Fresno aims to revitalize the trail and make it more accessible to the community.
The project will cost $1.98 million and will pull from the state’s Transformative Climate Communities grant awarded to Fresno.
The trail originally was set to be finished in summer 2023. Its current completion date is yet to be finalized.
SJRC River West Fresno Eaton Trail
The project will extend the existing Lewis S. Eaton Trail approximately 2.4 miles starting at Perrin Avenue near Highway 41 and ending at Spano Park.
The trail will be 22 feet wide, with a 12-foot-wide paved surface, a parallel 8-foot-wide hard natural surface for equestrian use, and a 2-foot shoulder. The project will also include three access points with parking lots on Perrine Avenue, Riverview Drive, and North Palm Avenue.
A completion date is yet to be finalized with a budget of $3.1 million according to project websites.
