NEWS RELEASE: High-Speed Rail Authority Completes Seventh Structure in Central Valley in 2023

August 9, 2023

KERN COUNTY, Calif. –The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) announced today the completion of its seventh high-speed rail structure in the Central Valley this year. The Merced Avenue overcrossing in Kern County is now open to traffic.

The Merced Avenue overcrossing and grade separation is located on State Route (SR) 43, south of the city of Wasco in Kern County. This grade separation, designed and constructed by California Rail Builders, spans 509 feet, is 43 feet wide, and takes traffic over SR 43, as well as BNSF and future high-speed rail lines.

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“The Merced Avenue overcrossing is the third structure to be completed in Kern County in a month and exemplifies the progress we continue to make,” said Garth Fernandez, Central Valley Regional Director. “This is thanks to the more than 1,300 workers dispatched every day all across the Central Valley bringing the first electrified high-speed rail system to California.”

Work at the Merced Avenue overcrossing began in 2020. The structure took 15 pre-cast concrete girders, 245 pre-cast deck panels and approximately more than 3,050 cubic yards of concrete to complete.

Since the start of construction, the Authority has created more than 11,000 construction jobs, a majority going to residents from the Central Valley. This includes creating more than 2,141 jobs for residents living in Kern County.

Over the last month, the Authority announced the completion of the Poso Avenue underpass in the city of Wasco and the McCombs Road grade separation located north of the city of Wasco. The Elkhorn Avenue overcrossing in Fresno County was also completed in July. Earlier this year, grade separations at Idaho and Dover avenues in Kings County were also opened to traffic. The Authority also announced the completion of the Cedar Viaduct, a high-speed rail signature structure in Fresno County, in May.

The Authority has begun work to extend the 119 miles under construction to 171 miles of future electrified high-speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield. There are more than 30 active construction sites in California’s Central Valley, with the Authority having environmentally cleared 422 miles of the high-speed rail program from the Bay Area to the Los Angeles Basin.

For more information on construction, visit: www.buildhsr.com

The following link contains recent video, animations, photography, press center resources and latest renderings: https://hsra.app.box.com/s/vyvjv9hckwl1dk603ju15u07fdfir2q8

These files are all available for free use, courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority.