Expect construction delays at Modesto’s Pelandale-Sisk intersection

Drivers should expect delays at the busy Pelandale Avenue-Sisk Road intersection in north Modesto this week as part of the city’s $55 million project to build a new Pelandale-Highway 99 interchange.

The city plans to close Pelandale Avenue and Sisk Road traffic lanes at the intersection starting Monday. The work is scheduled to go through Friday, but the city expects it could wrap up sooner. The lane closures are from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The city will close one lane at a time. As part of the interchange project, workers will dig holes in asphalt to verify that underground utility lines are where they are supposed to be and then fill in the holes. Traffic controls will be in place to help motorists.

“We anticipate some delays” for traffic, said Chuck Covolo, the city’s project manager for the interchange.

But he said the impact will be minor compared with when the city closed a section of Salida Boulevard on the west side of the interchange and the Pelandale bridge spanning the highway from March 4-12.

The city closed the bridge and a few hundred feet of Salida Boulevard after about a 150-foot section of water main under the boulevard failed, releasing torrents of water and dirt under the road. The city replaced about 100 feet of Salida Boulevard.

Modesto is building a new Pelandale interchange at Highway 99, which includes the bridge. Workers demolished the old bridge over the summer, and motorists have been using the new one as work continues on the interchange. The project is expected to be done by the end of the year. The new interchange 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.

Construction started in May 2014, and Public Works Director Bill Sandhu said recently that the project remains on schedule and on budget.

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 3:05 PM with the headline "Expect construction delays at Modesto’s Pelandale-Sisk intersection."