Drivers should avoid Kiernan-Highway 99 interchange Sunday

The Kiernan Avenue interchange with Highway 99 will close Sunday to accommodate ramp work in ongoing construction. The interchange is expected to close for a 30-hour period, from 8 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Monday, during which time traffic can’t use the Kiernan freeway crossing or the interchange ramps.

Southbound vehicles exiting Highway 99 at Kiernan may turn right toward Broadway Avenue and Salida Boulevard. Drivers can use the Pelandale Avenue and Hammett Road crossings to get from one side of Salida to the other.

Traffic engineers opted to close the interchange for work rather than leave some lanes open, which would require partial closures over four weekends.

The interchange is getting a $44 million upgrade that will make the bridge 50 feet wider, adding a lane in each direction on Kiernan and another lane in each direction of Highway 99 between Kiernan and the Pelandale interchange to the south. Modesto is remaking that crossing in a $55 million project that should finish in 2017, while the Kiernan upgrade should be done in fall 2016.

This story was originally published July 17, 2015 at 11:08 AM with the headline "Drivers should avoid Kiernan-Highway 99 interchange Sunday."