{"id":498176,"date":"2026-10-16T15:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T15:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/498176\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T15:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T15:26:08","slug":"historic-downtown-fresno-road-is-being-restored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/498176\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic Downtown Fresno road is being restored"},"content":{"rendered":"

A roadway connection that was lost over 60 years ago in downtown Fresno is being restored.<\/p>\n

The development of the Fulton Mall in 1964 closed several sections of nearby streets to traffic, including a stretch of Merced Street next to Hotel Fresno.<\/p>\n

Construction is underway for the \u201cMerced Street Reconstruction Project,\u201d which the city said Wednesday will improve access for residents, businesses and visitors downtown.<\/p>\n

The project calls for reconnecting approximately 600 feet of Merced Street between H Street and Congo Alley, restoring a portion of downtown\u2019s original street grid. This area was converted into a walkway upon Fulton Mall\u2019s development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project is about much more than building 600 feet of roadway,\u201d Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s about reconnecting our downtown, restoring a piece of Fresno\u2019s history and creating new opportunities for investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A A map shows where construction will take place to restore a road in downtown Fresno that was lost over 60 years ago. Fresno Councilmember Miguel Arias social media post <\/p>\n

A separate project to extend Broadway by about 230 feet is also planned that will carry traffic through to the Merced Street extension, according to the release.<\/p>\n

Historical significance<\/p>\n

The city identified the need for the \u201cMerced Street Reconstruction Project\u201d in its Downtown Specific Plans, which were approved by the council in 2018.<\/a><\/p>\n

The project also aims to enhance access to the new Carnegie Library parking garage and the historic Hotel Fresno. Built in 1912, the hotel was restored in 2024<\/a>, and it is the oldest extant hotel downtown.<\/p>\n

Fresno\u2019s first permanent City Hall opened at Merced Street and Broadway in 1907, which was directly across from the Fresno Hotel.<\/p>\n

\"The The ground floor of the Hotel Fresno will finally be opened for availability to businesses more than four years after the building\u2019s restoration got underway. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

Additional improvements include new street lighting, landscaping, street trees, parking and supporting infrastructure, according to the release.<\/p>\n

The project costs nearly $2 million, funded by Measure C and gas tax funds.<\/p>\n

\"A A map shows where construction will take place to restore a road in downtown Fresno that was lost over 60 years ago. Fresno Councilmember Miguel Arias social media post
\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A roadway connection that was lost over 60 years ago in downtown Fresno is being restored. The development…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498177,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-498176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}