The Authority Announces Elkhorn Avenue Completion; Central Valley Training Center Graduates

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. – The California High-Speed Rail Authority announces the completion of its Elkhorn Avenue crossing and celebrates the graduates of its construction program.

Elkhorn Avenue Overcrossing

On July 6^th, the completion of Elkhorn Avenue overcrossing in Fresno County was announced by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. At 40 feet wide, the overcrossing spans 345 feet and “will serve as a grade separation taking traffic over the future high-speed rail lines.” Located between south of Fresno, the overcrossing sits between Clovis and Fowler avenues.

Future work includes extending the current “119 miles under construction to 171 miles of future electrified high-speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield.” The Authority currently has “more than 30 active construction sites in California’s Central Valley. . . and [it has] cleared 422 miles of the high-speed rail program from the Bay Area to the Los Angeles Basin.”

Central Valley Training Center Graduates

Last Friday, eleven students from Central Valley Training Center graduated the pre-apprenticeship program. The program is at no-cost and helps “veterans, at-risk young adults, minority, and low-income populations. . . [by providing] hands-on construction industry training for those looking to work on the nation’s first high-speed rail project.”

At the center, “students are exposed to more than 10 different construction trades and exit the program with more than a dozen industry-specific certifications.” Central Valley Regional Director, Garth Fernandez, said of the program that “continued progress on the high-speed rail project is thanks to the men and women who are on our construction sites each day . . . We’re proud to be working with our partners and help train the workforce that will bring high-speed trains to California.”