Modesto’s old Pelandale bridge comes tumbling down

Workers demolished the Pelandale Avenue bridge spanning Highway 99 in north Modesto over the weekend as part of a $55 million project to build a new interchange at the highway.

A new bridge opened to traffic July 24. Workers are halfway through the project, with all the major work expected to be finished by the end of 2016 and ahead of a ribbon-cutting for the new interchange in early 2017. It will have twice the capacity of the old interchange, which opened in 1970, when Modesto’s population was about a third of what it is today.

Highway 99 was slated to be closed from 11 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday for the demolition and 11 p.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday for workers to remove any remaining debris from the highway median. The highway also was closed at the Kiernan Avenue interchange about a half-mile north of Pelandale for similar work. Stanislaus County is upgrading that interchange.

Construction workers operating heavy equipment with long arms with jackhammers methodically demolished the Pelandale bridge. The hammers poked holes in the concrete, and then the arms pulled the concrete rubble onto the highway. Workers had put down a thick carpet of dirt beneath the bridge to protect the highway from the falling debris.

“That was probably the most impressive thing I’ve seen done as a civil engineer, and I’ve been doing this for about 25 years,” said Chuck Covolo, a senior civil engineer with the city. “It’s not every day that we get a chance to see someone take down a bridge.”

Covolo said the project remains on schedule and on budget. He said some of the major components that are left include work on the new northbound offramp and southbound off- and onramps as well as completing the new bridge. He said half of the bridge is open to traffic.

This story was originally published August 2, 2015 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Modesto’s old Pelandale bridge comes tumbling down."