The California High-Speed Rail Authority is pushing back Friday's deadline for bids to design and build the first stretch of high-speed rail line through the Fresno area.

Authority CEO Jeffrey Morales said Tuesday that questions from five consortiums of building firms prompted the authority to set Jan. 18 as the new date by which bids must be submitted for a 28-mile stretch of the line from Avenue 17, northeast of Madera, to American Avenue at the south end of Fresno.

"The bidders have been asking for more information and more time to analyze the information," Morales said.

Earlier this year, the authority expected that contractors would submit their bids by August or September, with a contract awarded by the end of this year. The deadline was pushed back at the request of the contractors to Nov. 2, with a prospective contract award in late February or early March 2013.