As the busiest time of year quickly approaches, the City of Visalia has sped up construction schedules for two road projects to get work done before Thanksgiving weekend.
“Many Visalians will be driving throughout the city for one of the biggest shopping days of the year and their loved ones will be visiting our city for Thanksgiving next week,” said Visalia Senior Civil Engineer, Eric Bons. “We want the holidays to be enjoyable for drivers as they experience Visalia and a huge part of that is making sure our road work has a minimal impact.”
The work that will be most beneficial for shoppers will be at Visalia Parkway and Mooney Boulevard. Although more work will be done after the holiday weekend, a major milestone will be achieved next week to increase the capacity of a major intersection at the south entrance of the city.
Improvements will include paving the southwest corner of the intersection and southside of Visalia Parkway starting Monday, November 20 and is expected to be completed by the end of the workday on Wednesday, November 22.
The intersection and Visalia Parkway will remain open while work is completed. However, drivers traveling through the area can expect minor delays as traffic will be shifted to accommodate the work.
Once paving is complete, the full width of the intersection will be available, and drivers will see improvements with a newly relocated signal – meaning more lanes will be available at the intersection for turns and through–traffic.
To receive updates and announcement on the remaining work for Visalia Parkway and Mooney, be sure to follow @cityofvisalia on Facebook and Instagram.
The other work that will benefit both Visalians and their guests for the holidays is the ride quality repairs that will be occurring on Goshen Avenue between Shirk and Mooney also starting on Monday, November 20.
Work will be performed from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and is expected to be completed by the end of the workday on Wednesday, November 22.
“While the paving operation wrapped in the summer, we unfortunately noticed, and heard from the public, that the roadway was uneven and bumpy in spots,” shared Chantha Chap, Visalia Civil Engineer. “It’s standard practice to inspect these projects and we found that the work needed to be in compliance with City standards.”
During this work, the contractor – at no additional cost – will grind down the uneven surface of the approximately 11.6 lane miles of new asphalt on Goshen. This will remove bumpy conditions and improve the overall ride quality. Then, the road will be sealed with an asphaltic oil as are all areas that are out of pavement smoothness tolerance after the completion of any asphalt overlay project.
In addition to the holiday guest traffic expected on this major entrance corridor to the city, the stretch of Goshen’s proximity to schools and its being part of school traffic routes also increased the need to complete this work during Visalia Unified School District’s fall break.
There will be no road closures for the work, but traffic delays are expected due to lane restrictions and motorists are encouraged to plan alternate routes.
*Construction dates shown above are tentative and could be subject to weather delays.
For additional information on the Visalia Parkway work, call (559) 713-4350 or email eric.bons@visalia.city.
For additional information on the Goshen Avenue work, call (559) 713-4418 or email chantha.chap@visalia.city.