Modesto highway project finally under way, but dust, toxic dirt have residents worried
A long-awaited project to realign Highway 132 in west Modesto is well under way, and so is an effort to dispose of tons of dirt contaminated with toxic barium.
The two associated projects have raised questions in the minds of some residents who live near the new highway route and are aware of the contaminated berms stemming from the former FMC chemical plant, which was situated north of Kansas Avenue near Highway 99.
In a Facebook message to The Modesto Bee, Crystal Croslow of Modesto asked about a haze over much of west Modesto last week. She wondered if the air might be mixed with contaminated dust stirred by the highway construction and environmental remediation.
“They’ve been digging and turning up that dirt without spraying water to keep the dust down,” Croslow wrote. Contacted by The Bee last week, Croslow also wanted to know if “they are testing the air quality, and what about those people living next to those mounds?”
The highway realignment is a joint project of Modesto, the state Department of Transportation, Stanislaus County and other agencies. To reroute cars and trucks on 132, Caltrans will upgrade a section of Dakota Avenue and build a new expressway into Modesto parallel with Kansas Avenue.
Crews are removing 400,000 cubic yards of dirt to create a sunken expressway on the new route, which was acquired by the state more than 60 years ago. The two lanes and a median will pass under Carpenter Road and Rosemore Avenue. The contractor will soon provide a bypass route for traffic while the Carpenter Road bridge is constructed. Rosemore will be closed for bridge construction.
When asked about dust control last week, the city said a certain amount of dust and haze are natural for the Northern San Joaquin Valley due to agriculture and windy conditions.
City spokesman Thomas Reeves said water is being sprayed at the construction sites to prevent dust clouds. The excavation and containment project for the three mounds of barium-tainted soil is proceeding with a strict regimen of dust control and monitoring to keep people from being exposed to toxins, the city said.
Barium is a dangerous heavy metal that can affect the lungs, heart and other organs. The state has said the concentrations of barium, strontium and lead in the soil are too low to cause cancer and other health problems.
Crews are moving a stockpile of contaminated dirt on the east side of Highway 99, near the south end of Franklin Street. The dirt trucked from that berm is placed over two mounds in the expressway route on either side of Emerald Avenue. The berm west of Emerald is about 900 feet long.
The tainted soil will be encapsulated in concrete behind retaining walls and bridge abutments along the expressway or underneath the pavement. The tainted dirt placed in “non-traveled” areas will be covered by native soil, the city said.
For years, local residents and critics of the remediation plan had hoped the contaminated berms would be hauled away from Modesto. That would cost an estimated $20 million.
The contaminated soil operation is monitored by closed-circuit cameras watched by Caltrans and the state Department of Toxic Substances Control. “Material handling protocols are in place to ensure that all personnel working on the project and the surrounding community are protected from exposure,” the city said.
Workers at the stockpiles are wearing personal protection badges that detect exposure to barium. Truck beds carrying the tainted dirt are covered at all times. Decontamination measures are used to make sure barium is not spread outside the construction zone. Those procedures include wiping down equipment, tires and workers’ shoes.
In addition, an independent consultant is monitoring the work at the stockpiles. So far, no barium has been detected above the safe levels established by the state, the city said.
In addition to the water trucks at the general construction zones, two street sweepers are working to keep nearby streets clean.
The current construction activity expected to cost $82 million is only the first phase of the 132 realignment. It’s slated to open to motorists in 2022. The $132 million second phase will include the ultimate four-lane expressway and a direct “freeway-to-freeway” connection for highways 132 and 99.
In the final phase, the realigned highway will be extended from Dakota Avenue out to Gates Road.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 8:33 AM.
