Caltrans details $230 million SR‑99/Page Avenue interchange project; construction expected to begin after 2027 bid process

Caltrans project manager Siobhan Conley told the Tulare City Council on Tuesday that the agency’s multimodal improvements to the State Route 99/Page Avenue interchange are moving through final plan and right‑of‑way work toward construction. The project will widen SR‑99 from two to three lanes in each direction, replace the Page Avenue overcrossing so the highway will pass over Page Avenue, and construct four roundabouts and a new bridge structure at the interchange.

“The project is physically located on State Route 99 between just south of Avenue 200 and Prosperity Avenue,” Conley said, and Caltrans expects to advertise the contract to bidders in June 2027 and aims to complete construction in January 2031. She told council staff and residents that right‑of‑way agreements and utility relocations are the immediate priorities, with right‑of‑way certification needed by Oct. 9, 2026.

Caltrans said the work will require relocating the Tulare Irrigation District canal, high‑voltage Southern California Edison transmission lines and numerous telecommunications and city water and sewer facilities. Conley said Caltrans will build temporary lanes — a “shoofly” — to keep traffic on SR‑99 during major construction and that Page Avenue and some on‑ and off‑ramps will be closed temporarily during phases of work.

Council members pressed Caltrans about access to local businesses during construction and potential detours. Conley said Caltrans will maintain local access and coordinate detours so businesses remain reachable, and added the agency plans extensive community outreach, commuter alerts and social media updates. “We will do community, commuter alerts and social media blast,” she said, noting that recent outreach had included door‑to‑door handouts and a May open house.

On funding, Caltrans presented a layered budget of federal, state and local sources. “So, as of right now … the total project from start to finish [is] about $230,000,000,” Conley said, identifying a roughly $98,000,000 federal grant for construction among the sources. Council members and staff thanked Caltrans and TCAG (Tulare County Association of Governments) for grant work and urged continued local coordination as the project moves toward construction.

The project schedule and the scale of utility work mean Caltrans will delay contractor mobilization after award until utility relocations and remaining right‑of‑way work are complete, Conley said. Councilmembers asked Caltrans to return with updates as major milestones — right‑of‑way certification, construction advertisement and detour timing — become fixed.