As Tuolumne Street bridge gets torn down debris piles up and gets a new life

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Big piles of debris sit on a lot not far from the Tuolumne Street bridge. The piles and piles of debris is the result of buildings and homes that were demolished to make room for the High-Speed Rail project. High-Speed Rail officials said to expect all of those piles to get even bigger once the Tuolumne Street bridge is torn down.

Crews jack hammering the Tuolumne Street bridge making way for the High-Speed Rail that will soon take its place but have you ever wondered what happens to all of the falling rubble? Toni Tinoco, with the High-Speed Rail Authority, said the answer is simple. "All of the metal, all of that is being recycled too."

Debris from the bridge like asphalt, concrete, and even certain types of metals are shuttled less than a mile from where they fell then dumped here at that lot. "What we'll do is, we'll actually have a crusher come in, crush the concrete so that we can use as we begin construction in other areas in Fresno," said Tinoco.

Other areas like outside of Madera where construction for this piece designed to support the high-speed train can be spotted while driving down State Route 145.

So far HSR has recycled more than 44,000 tons of materials, and it is confident as more concrete from the Tuolumne Street bridge comes down that number will go up.

The folks over at the High-Speed Rail Authority tell Action News before they recycle and reuse any of these materials they make sure it goes through environmental clearances to check for stuff like lead and asbestos.

So far, they said, they have not run into any of those issues.