McHenry Makeover: Busy road getting spruced up

Motorists traveling along McHenry Avenue in Modesto were greeted by some extra congestion near the Five Points intersection as road-working equipment prepared the thoroughfare for paving Monday.

The state Department of Transportation is giving McHenry, officially designed state Highway 108, a face-lift from about Needham Street north to Corralwood Road, near the Super Wal-Mart.

Usually, work on such highways is done at night to reduce traffic problems, Caltrans said, but some delays forced crews to work during the day Monday to meet the construction schedule.

Caltrans began the project more than a year ago and expects to complete the $6.6 million project in mid-October.

Besides repaving the roadway, Caltrans said the project included making the sidewalks at each intersection handicapped accessible, adding ramps to allow wheelchairs easier access from the crosswalks. Other roadwork was done as part of the effort to upgrade the city's main north-south traffic artery.

Caltrans said paving the street was suspended last year when the weather turned too cold to allow the new surface to harden properly and resumed as soon conditions permitted.