A crew performs work on the high-speed rail system in Fresno last year. Image via California High-Speed Rail Authority

The California High-Speed Rail Authority and design-builder Dragados-Flatiron Joint Venture will open a new manufacturing facility in Kings County this week.

The facility, which will employ 25-40 full-time workers from local union halls while it is in operation, will make pre-cast girders needed for 36 bridges in the rail project’s second phase of construction through Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties.

The facility is expected to produce as many as 1,300 girders for the 65-mile segment.

Dragados-Flatiron Joint Venture is implementing its own in-house girder production to meet schedule and allow for quality control, according to a news release.

An opening ceremony will be held Wednesday at the manufacturing site near Grangeville Avenue and Highway 43 near Hanford.