California high-speed rail hits new construction milestone
Story by Theo Burman
• 8h •
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has completed another key infrastructure element in the Central Valley, opening the Avenue 88 Grade Separation in Tulare County.
The new overpass spans 485 feet and clears both State Route 43 and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway line, as well as the corridor for future high-speed trains.
Why It MattersCalifornia's high-speed rail is in an awkward position. Years of delays and an inflated budget have damaged public and political faith in the project, but the past few years have seen progress—with construction happening throughout the state and tracklaying set to start later this year. To call off the project now, as many of its detractors in the White House desire, would waste years of advancement.
That has not stopped President Donald Trump, a long-standing critic of the project, from regularly threatening to take away the federal funding that has been vital to the project's progress so far—a threat he and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy carried out in July.
What To Know The Avenue 88 structure is the seventh grade separation to be opened to traffic this year. Other completed crossings include sites at Tulare Street in Fresno and Avenue 56 in Tulare County. Additional separations at Belmont and Central avenues in Fresno County and Fargo and Whitley avenues in Kings County have also come online.
This marks the 57th completed structure along the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment and the second in Tulare County to become operational this year. According to the Authority, the structure consists of 20 precast concrete girders—each between 59 and 141 feet in length—and is built with over 528,000 pounds of steel and 2,109 cubic yards of concrete. The girders were produced locally by the Dragados-Flatiron Joint Venture in Hanford, California.
The High-Speed Rail Authority confirmed that 463 of the total 494 miles between San Francisco and Los Angeles/Anaheim are now fully environmentally cleared. While there is still no firm statewide completion date, these milestones mark incremental progress on a project that has been under scrutiny for cost overruns and delays.
The Avenue 88 project is part of a broader push to improve transportation safety and mobility in California's Central Valley, a region deeply reliant on agriculture and long-distance travel. Grade separations like this eliminate at-grade railroad crossings, reducing vehicle wait times and decreasing the risk of collisions.
Amtrak Pacific Surfliner Train from San Diego to San Luis Obispo: Simi Valley, California, USA - April 06, 2025. Getty Images© Getty Images
The project is also a physical indicator of progress for the long-delayed California High-Speed Rail initiative. The Authority reported that 171 miles of the system are now under construction between Merced and Bakersfield, with more than 15,500 construction jobs created since the start of the project—many filled by local workers.
What People Are SayingGarth Fernandez, the Authority's Central Valley regional director, said in a statement: "From urban Fresno to rural Tulare County, the Authority continues to deliver tangible benefits to local communities.
"This brand-new structure will improve access for farm equipment, emergency responders and everyday travelers, helping our valley stay safe and connected."
What's NextThe Authority continues to push ahead with construction across four counties—Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare—with 29 additional structures underway. Officials say up to 1,700 workers are active on job sites each day as the agency targets completing core segments through California's interior before shifting focus to the larger metropolitan connections on both ends of the system. |
