Avenue 15 Grade Separation

In Madera County, a newly constructed overpass at Avenue 15 has been opened to traffic. The overpass located between State Route 99 and Road 32 allows traffic to travel over the existing BNSF railroad tracks and the future high-speed rail system.

Two other grade separations are getting closer to completion. Crews have recently paved and striped the Avenue 10 and 7 overpasses in Madera County that will open by fall.

Just south of Madera, crews are making finishing touches on several bridges to open them up to traffic by this summer. At Avenue 15, joint seals, a highly compressive plastic, are being installed to allow for the expansion and contraction of the bridge during hot and cold weather, and in case of an earthquake.

Workers put the finishing touches on wing wall forms prior to a scheduled concrete pour. Within the next few weeks fill dirt will be trucked in to fill in behind the walls on the structure’s east side and bring traffic up to the level of the bridge. The Avenue 15 overcrossing will take traffic over the existing BNSF lines and a future high-speed rail line.

Bridge deck construction has begun, and workers are preparing forms for a concrete pour to extend the abutment’s wing walls. The 35-foot tall, two-span structure will take traffic over the future high-speed train and the existing BNSF freight rail alignment. Cast in place embankment walls are taking shape on the east side of the structure. On the bridge, crews are setting precast deck panels on top of the girders, creating a working area that will be a permanent part of the bridge deck.

At Avenue 15, workers have poured the bent cap on the west side of the overcrossing in addition to the eastern abutment. Two spans of girders were set over a couple of days at the end of March, with girders set over the railroad at night in coordination with BNSF railroad. The 35-foot tall, two-span structure will take traffic over the future high-speed train and the existing BNSF freight rail alignment.

At Avenue 15, construction is underway on both sides of the tracks as workers complete the central pier and start work on the eastern abutment. Workers have poured the bent cap, which ties the two columns together, and are removing the temporary falsework that supported the concrete forms. The 35-foot-tall west abutment was poured earlier this month and the forms have been stripped and moved to the east side where that abutment is now taking shape. After the eastern abutment is poured, girders will be set for the two-span structure which will take traffic over the future high-speed train and the existing BNSF freight rail alignment.

At Avenue 15, construction is underway again on the west side abutment wall and center pier. The 35-foot-tall west abutment was poured earlier this month. The formwork from the west abutment will next be moved over to the east abutment for crews to begin raising that structure out of the ground. The central pier has falsework around the columns and a rebar crew is tying the steel for the bent cap which will tie the two columns together. This two-span structure will take traffic over the future high-speed train and the existing BNSF freight rail alignment.

Construction is ramping up at Avenue 15. Carpenter and rebar crews are constructing the abutment wall for this two-span structure which will take traffic over the high-speed train and the existing freight rail alignment.

At Avenue 15, just east of Road 29 in Madera County, the piers for a supporting bent structure have been poured, rebar for the west abutment is in place, and fill dirt has been trucked in for the westside embankment. The Authority is currently coordinating with BNSF for a permit to work over the railroad tracks.

At Avenue 15, just east of Road 29 in Madera County, the piers for a supporting bent structure have been poured and falsework will soon be erected to form the bent cap. The foundation for the west abutment has been poured and fill dirt has been trucked to the site to build the embankment on the east side.

At Avenue 15, just east of Road 29 in Madera County, concrete has been poured for the west side abutment footing, while on the east side, a cast in-place wall will be constructed on either side of the abutment once it has been built. The piers for a supporting bent structure have been poured and falsework will be erected to form the bent cap. Eventually, concrete girders will link the abutments with the supporting bent to form the superstructure of the bridge.

At Avenue 15, just east of Road 29 in Madera County, the western abutment construction for the Avenue 15 overpass continues. Dozens of shafts have been drilled, each one is three feet in diameter and 70 feet deep. The east side will have a cast-in-place wall on either side of the abutment, while the west side of the structure will have pre-cast Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) wall panels to retain the fill on the abutment’s north and south sides. The piers for a supporting bent structure have been poured and next falsework will be erected to construct the bent cap. Eventually, concrete girders will link the abutments with the supporting bent to form the superstructure of the bridge.

Ironworkers have been hard at work setting forms and installing reinforcing rebar on the west abutment footing of the Avenue 15 overpass in Madera County. Towards the east side of the structure, drilling for the cast-in-place wall foundations that extend from each abutment is also underway. Columns for a bent have been poured and falsework will be constructed next to form the bent cap that will support the superstructure elements, such as the pre-cast girders and concrete deck.

At Avenue 15, just east of Road 29, the drilling operation finished the western abutment and has moved east of the tracks to begin drilling the eastern abutment. A carpenter crew and ironworkers have mobilized on the west abutment footing; setting forms and installing reinforcing bar. Column forms for a bent (a bent is composed of a column and cap element that the girders rest on) will be removed next and falsework set around the columns. Once the falsework is complete, the forming of the bent cap will begin.

Earthmoving continues for the overcrossing of Avenue 15 in Madera County. Some excavation is also beginning in the area of the structure where a section will cross over the existing freight line. Final utility relocations are planned next, which will enable further construction to begin.

Earth moving has begun for the overcrossing of Avenue 15 in Madera County. Fill dirt is being trucked to the site to raise the grade about 10 feet on either side of a power line while waiting for utility relocation. Dirt is trucked to the site then worked and compacted for the crossing that will take Avenue 15 traffic over the high speed and existing freight lines.