News

Residents and visitors to Visalia will experience better traffic mobility on a highly-traveled section of State Route 216, known locally as Lovers Lane, after a multimillion-dollar project to reconfigure the highway concludes next year.

Caltrans, in partnership with the City of Visalia and the Tulare County Association of Governments, broke ground today on the $44.9 million Lovers Lane Rehab Project that will provide operational enhancements and improve traffic mobility through an impacted section of SR-216, one of Visalia’s main thoroughfares.

"This has been sorely needed in our community, so I say thank you to Caltrans for coming here and supporting this project, and to TCAG for their support and great working relationship," shared Mayor Brett Taylor. "We look forward to the relief that our community members will feel when these improvements are made and we're here celebrating the completion of the project."

The project will create a new interchange alignment where Lovers Lane meets State Route 198, rehabilitate roadway pavement on Lovers Lane between Noble Avenue and Houston Avenue, and on Houston Avenue between Lovers Lane and McAuliff Street, build new bicycle lanes and pedestrian walkways and upgrade existing amenities to current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.

“Caltrans is grateful for the strong relationships with our partners in bringing this project to active construction, and to help keep local residents moving through an area that has been on our radar for a long time,” said Caltrans District 6 Director Michael Navarro. “We are confident this project, along with others we have planned for the area, will deliver positive and lasting improvements to Visalia.”

The first phase of the Lovers Lane Project is underway with single-lane daytime closures in each direction between Mineral King Avenue and Noble Avenue (northbound) and Mineral King Avenue and Houston Street (southbound) for bridge work, roadway excavation and paving operations.

The full project is scheduled for completion in Summer 2026.

The project includes $1.9 million in Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) funding. SB 1, The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, provides $5 billion in transportation funding annually that is shared equally between state and local agencies.

For updates on the Project, visit the Caltrans District 6 website here.