construction update Archives

Categories : Fresno TransitTags : ADA bench bus stop construction update crosswalk FAX fresno area express photo tour shelters upgradeLeave a comment

A look at Fresno’s improved bus stops

On April 28, 2020April 28, 2020 By jamesinclair

Last November, I reported that Fresno Area Express (FAX) received funds to update various bus stops. The upgrades include making them ADA accessible, so they can be used by those in wheelchairs, and adding new amenities like seating and shelters. Unlike the three-plus year odyssey that has been the reconstruction of the Manchester Transit Center, FAX has moved very quickly with these updates, and they’re almost all done.

For reference, here was the render they shared:

And here is what they look like in real life. Remember, they were previously just a sign planted on dirt.

You can see the new crosswalk and accessible ramps from the sidewalk to the island. Click to read more!

Categories : Fresno High Speed Rail Housing RetailTags : brewery district broadway community hospital construction update downtown fresno fulton street h street high speed rail photo tour update van ness Warehouse Row6 Comments

Belated Downtown Fresno Photo Update

On April 18, 2020April 18, 2020 By jamesinclair

I went downtown a couple of months ago (January) to take photos, as I usually do. I hesitated on posting them because frankly, not much has changed over the last year. This is in contrast to five years ago, when there was always a new building popping up.

Then corona hit, and the photos seemed even less relevant, but now I’ve changed my mind on that. With the virus, everything is essentially frozen in time. Nothing is under construction, nothing will be open any time soon, and nobody is lining up to lay down piles of cash on new development. That is, even if the virus suddenly disappeared tomorrow, there are too many questions about the economy for investors. Will people get their jobs back? Will there be a change in demand for office space? Click to read more!

Categories : Fresno RetailTags : construction update dead malls food hall manchester center manchester mall photo tour14 Comments

Your Annual Manchester Center Photo Update

On February 23, 2020February 23, 2020 By jamesinclair

Is it really a construction update if not much construction is going on? Perhaps that’s a bit of a spoiler as I do my annual tour of what’s going on with Manchester Center. As a reminder, here are some previous posts on the topic:

The photos I’m posting today are a few weeks old, but with these timelines, who cares?

We start outside where the only real changes could be found. Ironically, all the construction has taken place at Sears – which is owned independently. That is, while the Sears building is connected to the mall, it’s not part of it. If you weren’t aware, last year Sears decided to empty out half their store and lease the space to two (or three?) other companies. This year, they decided to vacate the remaining space as well (hence the store closing signs). Click to read more!

Categories : FresnoTags : construction update food court food truck manchester center manchester mall renovation4 Comments

Manchester Center Renovation Moving at Glacial Pace

On January 28, 2019January 28, 2019 By jamesinclair

One year ago I wondered if “the Manchester Center Food Hall was Really Coming?” I recently took a stroll around the mall to see if we could get an answer to that question. I have some good news and bad news.

The good news: Some work is being done.

The bad news: The pace at which the work is being done indicates that there is a single person working on his weekends to complete it. At the current pace, we will all be dead before that person is done.

Background: In May 2015 a company announced a renovation of Manchester Center. A year later, nothing had happened. In September 2016, the Bee reported that work was beginning and phase 1 would be done by Spring 2017. Click to read more!

Categories : Bakersfield Fresno High Speed RailTags : construction update HSR9 Comments

California High Speed Rail Posts Summer Update Video

On August 19, 2018October 27, 2019 By jamesinclair

The California High Speed Rail Authority used to post videos every month or two summarizing their construction progress. Unfortunately, that ended around October of last year. Now they’re back with a new video highlighting what has been going on. At under four minutes, it’s a good watch.

While they’ve been stingy with their videos, they have continuously updated their Flickr account. Usually new photos go up every 3-5 weeks.

Here are some of my recent favorites. I especially like the ones from angles I cannot get myself.

I’m hoping that in 2019, we see these various construction sites linked up with rails and walls. I think that once that happens, the project will really seem to be real, even though we know train service is still far away.

Additionally, one other major piece of infrastructure was recently “finished,” and that’s the train station in San Francisco.Or at least the box where it goes. Streetsblog has a tour here.

Of course, I wish this all was moving faster. But it’s still nice to see that it is moving at all.

Categories : Clovis RetailTags : Clovis construction update old town photo tour5 Comments

January 2018 Old Town Clovis Construction Update

On March 6, 2018October 27, 2019 By jamesinclair

All the changes at FAX took my attention last month, but now I finally have time to post my latest update on the changes going on in Old Town Clovis!

Previous updates:

September 2017
February 2017
May 2016
July 2015
February 2015

We start in the center, which is the area surrounding the new Centennial Plaza. Construction here is all done, and the new new buildings and plaza are looking good.

For reference, this is what the area looked like in 2011, according to Google Streetview:

And after the plaza was built, but before the buildings went up:

Here’s what we have now:

I like the sign.

Everything looks good except this little service alley – way too exposed.

Sidewalk is tight, but it wasn’t a big lot.

I really like this indoor/outdoor dining area.

Moving to the side of the building. The entrance to the dining area is via the plaza.

And the back. They did a really good job here, as this side is just as attractive as the front.

This is what the other new building looks like from the back. Not as nice.

Reminds me of a motel.

By comparison…

Ok, moving to the second building, there is also retail on the first floor. Here is the entrance.

Plaza to the right, Pollasky to the front

It is part of the Me n Eds chain. This is the view from the street.

Plaza in the center looks nice.

On Pollasky, this is the front.

This entrance is a disappointment. The stairs lead to an entrance to Blast and Brew…but a sign points you to the side. There is also a retailer up these steps.

And from a little bit down the street.

For reference, this is what was proposed, specifically the building on the right side of the plaza. The clock feature wasn’t built, the retail isn’t at street level, and windows were removed.

Final photos of this project:

Overall a success, although I would declare the building on the left the winner.

It’s good added infill in “downtown” Clovis, and improves the street. Instead of a parking lot, there are two new buildings with retail on the ground, and a decent product above them.

Moving away, we see progress on the hotel being built on Clovis Avenue. This one is “special” because the parking will be underneath the building, something uncommon in the area where surface parking dominates. Construction has been really slow.

It’s ok.

And finally, our last bit of Clovis infill. These new homes are unique because they front the Fresno-Clovis rail trail, instead of a street. I was excited to see what they’d do, but the end product is pretty disappointing.

Part of the project included building the same crap you see everywhere else, except the driveways front Sierra, which is rare for new development.

Here is the alley where vehicles can access the new trail homes, on the right.

The back of these homes looks like the front of most other places, except the fence is there to hide the backyard. It looks odd.

I feel like they should have just fenced the entire back yard in.

No idea if this parking is legal.

And there we see the bike trail and an existing hotel.

The trail is pretty popular.

Looking back at the new homes, the front is a whole bunch of fencing too.

It’s like a house with no front or back, just sides.

Ok, fine, this is the front. But it sure is ugly. Windows too expensive these days?

The other new one has nicer shielding.

I understand they would want a fence to make it clear this is a private property and not part of the trail, but why does it look like a chicken coop?

And then the fence for the homes that front Sierra.

Boring boring boring

Lots of bikes out though.

So that’s it for Clovis infill!

Once that hotel is finished, I’m not aware of any “real” infill construction in the city coming up. And no, I don’t count a CVS being built on a strip mall parking lot as infill. That’s a little disappointing. The first project here is a big win, and the other two are better than the status quo. Shame nothing is in the pipeline. I guess my attention will shift back to Downtown Fresno, which had a couple of years of construction inactivity (aside from Fulton Mall), but is supposed to be picking up again.

Categories : Fresno TransitTags : brt bus rapid transit construction update downtown FAX fresno manchester center photo tour7 Comments

A Look at BRT Construction in Fresno

On October 2, 2017October 27, 2019 By jamesinclair

Construction should not take this long.

We last looked at BRT (“bus rapid transit”) construction in Fresno back in January. Eight months later, the thing still isn’t done. We’re not talking about a new tunnel, a new corridor, or anything of significance; just sidewalk extensions and shelters. And apparently that’s just too much for Fresno to manage in a timely manner. It is embarrassing how little is being built and how long that is taking.

This is a project that has been in the works since around 2008. The city council finally signed off on it in 2014. It was supposed to be done, this time for real, in 2016. Now it is supposed to be done in 2018. Maybe.

High Speed Rail is also plagued by delays. The Central Valley segment was supposed to be finished up by the end of this month. In that case though, the delays are a little bit more understandable. It is a brand new corridor, full of tunnels and viaducts. Republican lawmakers have thrown every bit of obstruction that they could muster at it. Property owners took up lawsuit after lawsuit. Out-of-state interests poured in money to kill it.

So more understandable, but certainly still disappointing.

Anyway, this post will look at BRT construction, next one will be HSR.

We start with a typical “station” on Blackstone Avenue. All along the route, sidewalks have been bumped out to provide space for these stops. This one is located adjacent to a delicious Ethiopian Restaurant.

There is nothing about this that screams “two year construction project.”

Some of the branding is in place with the ticket machines.

The placement of this station, as is the case with many of them, is pure garbage.

Look at where the nearest marked crosswalk is.

This stop further up Blackstone is even worse.

This is how you encourage illegal crossings.

And then get sued when someone dies.

Now we move to Manchester Center. This is a transfer center that closed in January for construction. One of the busiest stops in the bus system. Surely a priority right?

The main building (where passes were sold) is still there.

All the other shelters are gone. Does this look like 9 months of hard work?

On my last post, I mentioned a brand new crosswalk and curb ramp at a new traffic signal.

So brand new that in January it wasn’t officially “open” yet.

January.

Now.

What a ridiculous waste of money.

January

Now

And now onto the downtown transfer center, which does look close to being done.

Coming from Fulton Street, you see a new traffic signal.

BRT buses will actually stop in the center of the roadway, rather than entering the station loops.

The new median platforms. Really the one and only true BRT feature.

The BRT stop has a unique design where the two directions face each other.

Meanwhile, the rest of the station got new shelters as well. While the new ones are certainly more modern and more attractive, the old ones appear to be larger and provide more shelter.

Old

New

There is a variety of seating, but not enough shade.

Another loop area

And the opposing BRT platform

I’ve seen 200-house developments go up faster than this. They need to hurry up and get it done.

Categories : Fresno Housing RetailTags : construction construction update deconstruction downtown fresno fulton mall fulton street peeve's public house photo tour tioga33 Comments

Fresno Fulton Mall / Street September 2017 Construction Photo Tour

On September 21, 2017November 18, 2019 By jamesinclair

This is a comprehensive look at the Fulton Mall (future Fulton Street) in Fresno, 2 months before construction is scheduled to end. Fresno is spending around $20 million to eliminate a pedestrian mall and re-open it to vehicles and vehicular parking. The intention behind it is to bring economic vitality to the corridor.=&0=&

Categories : Clovis RetailTags : Centennial plaza construction update farmers market hotel no surrender laser tag old town clovis photo tour sierra vista4 Comments

Old Town Clovis Construction Update

On September 8, 2017October 27, 2019 By jamesinclair

I must admit, losing all those photos in the old blog posts was discouraging. While I still have all those photos saved on multiple hard drives, there are just too many to find, upload, and relink. It essentially made years of posts useless.

And that discouragement made July suddenly turn to September.

But I am back now, with fresh photos that will be hosted on Flickr. Are there any guarantees that Flickr won’t do the same thing? Nope, but I guess that’s a risk we must take.

I’m starting with a nice and easy post: a look at the newest construction in Old Town Clovis.

Last updates:
February 2017
May 2016

The most obvious change is that the two new buildings next to Centennial Plaza are almost done. Not only are they new (a novelty in old town), but they’re the biggest yet. 3 stories isn’t exactly a skyscraper, but they do make an impression, and frankly, a nice one. I’m not in love with the architecture, but it will do.

I am impressed that both buildings went up.

And here they are seen on a day where the air quality wasn’t quite the best

The only other development in Old Town Clovis right now is the new hotel which will be placed over parking. Not the most exciting development, but I believe this makes for more non-road construction happening in Downtown Clovis than Downtown Fresno.

And finally, Sierra Vista Mall, just outside Old Town, has a great new laser tag arena + kids play area. The laser tag was a blast!

High tech too. You can watch other people play, and they have someone monitoring to make sure no one is cheating. Other high tech features include multiple weapon types + a health system (you can be a medic).

Bonus:

Don’t forget to check out the Farmer’s Market before the season ends!

They have a museum I had never noticed.

Next post will be a complete look at construction on the Fulton Mall.

Categories : Fresno High Speed RailTags : aerial construction update downtown fresno fresno high speed rail HSR madera photo tour4 Comments

Aerial Shots of California High Speed Rail Construction Released!

On May 11, 2017October 27, 2019 By jamesinclair

The California High Speed Rail Authority have recently posted aerial shots of the various construction sites that are well underway in the California Central Valley, primarily around Fresno. They tend to post updates on their official Flickr account once or twice a month, but most are taken at ground level. Since the Google Earth satellite images are unfortunately over 2-year old at this point, these new photos, taken last week, provide a unique vantage point. Seeing the action from above, you can really understand the scale of the various bridges, and make sense of how they fit in.

The Cedar Viaduct is probably the most important construction area right now because of the impact it will have. The bridge will take trains over CA-99, which sees around 95,000 vehicles passing by every day. Many people are still unaware that HSR is actually happening, so seeing the bridge take shape will have a large impact.

All photos courtesy of the CA HSR Authority

In downtown Fresno, they’re finally finishing the new Toulumne Street bridge. This bridge will carry cars, bicycles and pedestrians over the right of way. The Stanislaus Street bridge, seen above it, will be demolished because it is not tall enough.

A bit north, they’re tunneling under CA-180 to let the trains go through. The trains will go under the highway, under the freight line, and under the canal.

They’ve also rebuilt CA-99 to create a new right-of-way for the rail line.

Another hugely impact project, in terms of visibility, will be where the rail line crosses over the Union Pacific tracks and then over the San Joaquin River – all right next to busy CA-99. This will be extremely visible to passing motorists.

The wet winter means the bridge over the river has been stalled since December.

Rural drivers will go over the rail line in a new overpass, in Madera.

A bridge almost done over a creek.

And the very first active construction site, a bridge over the Fresno River, is wrapping up.

Wrapping up? Yes, the first construction package was for the heavy stuff in the Fresno area – bridges, tunnels, and viaducts. The train stuff – tracks and wires – are part of another construction package that hasn’t been handed out. The idea is to have the full right of way cleared, prepped, and ready to go, and then the last crew comes in and places the rail quickly and uniformly.

Once again, check out the photos in the official Flickr account and keep them bookmarked because new photos get uploaded at least every month, and usually more frequently.