The California High-Speed Rail Authority announced it had completed the Corcoran highway grade separation project in Kings County, a project that promises to prevent 670 crashes over the next 30 years.
The project is now complete and open to traffic, officials said, improving safety and traffic flow in the county. Officials estimate the project will translate to $137 million in public safety savings. The project brings to 62 the number of completed structures across the first 119 miles of high-speed rail construction in Central Valley, officials said.
“The Corcoran Highway overpass is the second structure to be completed in Kings County this summer and will serve the residents of surrounding communities,” Ed Fenn, Chief of Construction for the Authority, said. “The opening of this roadway will help improve traffic flow and east-west mobility as we continue construction in the county and near the city of Corcoran.”
The project takes traffic over an existing canal, Fifth and Orange Avenues, and the future high-speed rail tracks. Composed of 28 precast concrete girders, the structure is 713 feet tall and more than 43 feet wide. The project falls along Corcoran Highway just northeast of State Route 43 between Fourth and Orange avenues.
“We’re pleased to see the ongoing progress being made in Kings County along the high-speed rail corridor, especially now with the opening of the Corcoran Highway structure,” Richard Valle of the Kings County Board of Supervisors, said. “The Authority is responsible for more than a dozen grade separation projects throughout the county, essential infrastructure that will help residents navigate around the project safely during construction and during future operations.”
The project is part of the ongoing and daily construction for the High-Speed Rail project with major segments from Merced to Bakersfield under design and construction. Nearly 90 miles of guideway are complete, along with 62 major structures. Another 30 structures are underway across Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties. The high-speed rail project continues statewide, with more than 460 miles of the nearly 500-mile San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim system environmentally cleared and ready for construction.