Downtown streets closing for cycle race

As the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race hits Modesto today, drivers will hit a number of street closures to contend with though 3 p.m.

Despite the rain, spectators are expected to pour into the area to see cyclists make a loop twice through downtown. It begins at the Gallo Center at 10 a.m. and will hit 15th Street before the race heads out on Paradise Road on its way toward San Jose.

Among the closures: I Street between 9th and 13th. 10th and 11th street will be blocked between H and J.

At 8:30 a.m., an additional leg of I Street will close between 13th and 17th. J streets will also close between 9th and 17th. Southbound McHenry Avenue will be diverted onto 16th Street and Needham Avenue, and K Street will close between 9th and 12th.

The final round of closures will be at 9:30 a.m. to accommodate the actual race, and I will close between 8th and 9th. H Street will close between 9th and the point it turns into Paradise Road, and the closure will run all the way to Carpenter Road until the race passes by. Modesto Police Lt. Bill Ryan said he expects that to happen by about 10:15 a.m., at which point that section will reopen.

Other sections are set to reopen between noon and 3 p.m.

Downtown street closures