Merced’s G Street Underpass closure starts July 12

Written by jrood

February 14, 2001 On July 12, the G Street Underpass project in Merced, Calif., which will be the only below grade railroad crossing in the city, will start in earnest, when crews begin the prep work needed to create an undercrossing beneath the BNSF tracks, the Sacramento Bee reports. The $18-million project will take 18 months to complete.

A rolling lane closure on
G Street will begin July 12 as crews install signage along G Street. The
outside lanes will be closed to traffic intermittently throughout the day. On July
13, all lanes on G Street between 23rd Street and 25th Street will be closed to
through traffic for the duration of the project. Drivers will need to find
alternative routes across town.

On July 14-15, Pacific
Gas and Electric Co. crews will begin moving electrical power lines near the
project so they won’t interfere with construction efforts. The first work on
the road will begin July 16.

Ultimately, a four-lane
road under the tracks will connect Central and North Merced residents without
having to stop for train traffic.

The railroad crews will
begin their work when they drive pilings for the train bridge on July 19. They
will be installing a prefabricated bridge with minimal impact on passing trains
and plan to have it completed by October.

The city awarded the
$5,059,272.10-contract to Teichert Construction for the project. The city has
encouraged Teichert to hire local employees and subcontractors whenever possible.

The project is funded by:

California Transportation
Commission: $9 million.

Merced Redevelopment
Agency: $4.8 million.

City public facility
financing: $2.3 million .

BNSF: $1.9 million.

In addition, the city is
spending another $2.4 million for improvements in the project area, including a
$1.1 million water line replacement.

The road project has its
roots in an almost 80-year-old tragedy. On May 7, 1931, a school bus was struck
by a passing train at G Street and the then Santa Fe railroad tracks. Six
students were killed and another 23 were injured. The tragedy helped lead to
legislation that requires all occupied buses to stop at railroad crossings.

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