City leaders get preview of Pelandale interchange

Motorists driving Highway 99 don’t get to see the “real Modesto,” said Bill Sandhu, city Public Works director, as he showed Modesto government and business leaders around the Pelandale Avenue bridge that will open Friday afternoon. As a northern gateway, the interchange will evoke the beauty and character of Modesto, including the downtown arch and Gallo Center for the Arts, he said.

The first stop on a tour Sandhu led of the $55 million project was the newly unveiled “monument signage” at what will be the southbound on- and offramps. Plywood boards were removed Tuesday morning to reveal the embossed words “Welcome to Modesto” and, below that, “Water Wealth Contentment Health” – the same message as on the arch.

“Is it spelled right?” City Manager Jim Holgersson said jokingly as he got out of a tour van to look at the sign. Fortunately, it is.

Don’t expect to see the sign for quite some time. The plywood boards over it were put back in place Tuesday to protect against graffiti taggers and other vandals. The plywood itself has been tagged, Sandhu said.

The concrete has yet to be given stains – black lettering and a variety of other colors on faux stonework imprinted on the wall around it. Once stained, the sign and wall will be given a coating so graffiti can be removed through pressure washing.

The city also will focus decorative lighting on the sign and install surveillance cameras. The sign will be unveiled for good in late 2016 as one of the last steps in the Pelandale interchange project.

The tour’s second stop was on the bridge itself, where the group was shown how the arch theme is continued. Rectangular columns along the span will have caps reminiscent of the arch across I Street, though not embossed with wording. Metal arches with protective screens are being installed along the highest center part to help guard against anyone jumping or falling or throwing something over the sides onto the highway.

Along the south side of the bridge is a 6-foot-wide pedestrian path with a wall to protect people from vehicles.

Looking at the work still to be done, officials on the tour expressed surprise that the eight-lane bridge will be ready to open with four lanes Friday.

Crews are working around the clock to finish the connection from the bridge to Pelandale Avenue, said Joy Denny of Mendoza & Associates engineers. The city arranged with Caltrans to have the northbound offramp at Pelandale closed for 84 hours, which began at 9 p.m. Monday. Base rock was to be put down Tuesday night, and paving will start Wednesday morning, she said.

The span’s opening Friday afternoon, without fanfare, begins Stage 3 of the six-stage interchange project. The next stage includes demolishing the old Pelandale bridge and constructing portions of the southbound Highway 99 offramps.

Demolition of the former three-lane bridge is set to begin at 11 p.m. July 31, contingent upon Caltrans’ approval, said Chuck Covolo, senior civil engineer with the city’s Public Works Department. That same night, a portion of the bridge at the Kiernan Avenue interchange also will be demolished, he said.

The last stop on the tour was to show samples of the stains proposed for the bridge exterior and the interior walls visible to drivers and pedestrians crossing it. Those stains tie into Gallo Center and Tenth Street Place exterior colors and the green, blue and burgundy of the city’s logo used online, on documents, correspondence and business cards.

Eyeing the sample cement work, some on the tour – including Holgersson, city spokeswoman Amy Vickery and Councilwoman Jenny Kenoyer – expressed doubts about some of the colors being used. Kenoyer urged that the time be taken to ensure the selection is right. “It’s going to be there forever,” she said.

Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Cecil Russell later said, “I am confident that the experts will work it out. Whatever they finally adopt will be so much better than before. ... I think this is a great project and that our citizens will be very impressed when it all get completed.”

This story was originally published July 21, 2015 at 6:32 PM with the headline "City leaders get preview of Pelandale interchange."