Judge clears Caltrans Highway 99 upgrade in south Fresno lawsuit

Caltrans won a key court ruling that keeps its $146 million Highway 99 upgrade moving in south Fresno, a project that will close Cedar Avenue ramps and change how drivers reach American Avenue and North Avenue.

Fresno County Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Wilson ruled that Friends of Calwa and Fresno Building Healthy Communities filed their CEQA challenge too late to use California’s environmental law to block the work. The decision gives Caltrans a stronger path to continue the South Fresno State Route 99 Corridor Project, unless another legal challenge surfaces.

The project would reconstruct the existing half interchanges at American Avenue and North Avenue, close the Cedar Avenue ramps, and leave the corridor with full interchanges, sidewalks, curb and gutter, lighting, signalization and a stormwater system, according to Caltrans. The agency says the State Route 99 alignment in the project area was built in 1965, and the current design no longer meets today’s standards. The work sits in a busy south Fresno corridor that also includes the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad line, Golden State Boulevard and the California High-Speed Rail line.

For residents and commuters, the ruling matters because it clears one more obstacle for a project that could alter daily travel patterns in neighborhoods already shaped by freeway ramps, truck routes and industrial traffic. Critics have long said the upgrade is tied to a proposed 3,000-acre industrial park in south Fresno and would bring more truck traffic and pollution to communities such as Calwa and Malaga. Supporters say the changes are needed to improve access and safety and to support business and industrial growth.

The legal fight has stretched for years. Friends of Calwa and Fresno Building Healthy Communities filed suit against Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration in 2023, after federal agencies said final actions on the project were approved Jan. 24, 2023. A Federal Register notice later set Jan. 16, 2024, as the deadline for federal claims. The California Court of Appeal revived the community groups’ CEQA claims in January 2025, and the trial court vacated its earlier dismissal on April 2, 2025. Wilson heard arguments on Jan. 9, 2026, before issuing his ruling on April 6.

The decision does not settle the broader fight over pollution, traffic and neighborhood disruption in south Fresno. It does, however, leave Caltrans with the upper hand for now as one of Fresno County’s most contested transportation projects moves closer to construction.