California agency advances work on first high-speed rail viaduct

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) and its design-build contractor Tutor Perini/Zachry/Parsons (TPZP) yesterday began installing three cofferdams in the dry channel of the Fresno River, where the future Fresno River Viaduct will be built.

The temporary structures consist of several steel sheets which will hold back sand at the bottom of the river while TPZP crews excavate approximately 12 feet into the riverbed. This in turn will allow for the installation of structural supports for the viaduct, CHSRA officials said in a press release.

The cofferdams will stand for about three weeks and will be removed once the foundational structures are in place.

The Fresno River Viaduct is a 1,600-foot aerial structure that will span from Raymond Road to Watson Street in Madera County, Calif. It will traverse the Fresno River and run parallel to BNSF Railway Co. tracks along State Route 145, CHSRA officials said.

The viaduct is the first of three to be built as part of Construction Package 1, which comprises a 29-mile construction area that stretches from Avenue 17 in Madera County to East American Avenue in Fresno County.