Caltrans updates schedule for Fresno County State Route 168 culvert project

Crews worked Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Fresno County’s State Route 168 culvert rehabilitation, with one-way reversing traffic control and lane reductions west of Academy Oaks Lane and Thimbleberry Lane. A June 19 update set the next phase to begin June 28 between Lodge Road and Qualls Prather Road.

The work affects a mountain corridor that carries Clovis, Auberry, Prather, Tollhouse and Shaver Lake traffic, and the road is heavily used during peak hours. Closures could last longer than planned because of weather or other uncontrollable events.

The project covers 158 culverts and associated elements between post mile R8.13 and post mile 45.80, from the Fowler Avenue Overcrossing in Clovis to 0.10 mile east of Warbler Lane near Shaver Lake. The culverts are perforated and heavily rusted, with damaged end treatments and joint separations, and the job is meant to rehabilitate, upgrade or replace drainage elements before more of the system reaches failure.

The project cost is $10,913,000. The proposed schedule set construction to begin in spring 2026 and finish in summer 2027, after the environmental document was circulated for public review and comment from February 3, 2023, to March 6, 2023. The March 2023 initial study identified Cuauhtemoc Galvan as the environmental planner and Shane Gunn as the environmental branch chief and project contact.

Wylatti Resource Management, Inc. is the contractor. No traffic restrictions are currently listed for SR 168 in the central California and Sierra Nevada area, and the phased setup keeps the route open as crews move from one segment to the next.