Key meeting nears for Highway 132 bypass west of Modesto

The location of an important Wednesday open-house meeting on the future Highway 132 bypass west of Modesto has changed to Mark Twain Junior High School, and a public comment period was extended two weeks to March 17.

Wednesday’s meeting, with a drop-in-and-chat format, will provide a first chance to ask questions and provide feedback on a recently unveiled 840-page environmental impact report with mounds of information, from plans for containing barium-tainted soil to the 32 homes and 11 businesses to be razed for the $214 million freeway.

Scheduling conflicts with a previously announced venue forced a change to the school at 707 S. Emerald Ave. in west Modesto. The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m.

The document includes a long-awaited plan to cap with highway pavement the barium-laced soil that crews piled south of Kansas Avenue about 50 years ago. Some neighbors would prefer that the dirt be hauled away, but the study says that would cost an extra $20 million.

Government scientists have said the dirt is not sickening or killing people, and that capping it is a safe way to contain any threat.

Drivers can look forward to smoother sailing as soon as 2020, officials say, if the project stays on track.

The document can be viewed online as well as at the third-floor Stanislaus Council of Governments office, 1111 I St., or at the public library at 1500 I St., both in downtown Modesto. Comments can be offered at the open-house meeting; emailed to philip.vallejo@dot.ca.gov; or sent to Caltrans at 855 M St., Suite 200, Fresno, 93721.

This story was originally published February 15, 2017 at 9:03 PM with the headline "Key meeting nears for Highway 132 bypass west of Modesto."