New Highway 132 segment in Modesto could open sooner than expected. Here’s why
Construction has gone faster than expected on the new Highway 132 segment in Modesto, which could open by year’s end.
That would be three months earlier than the March 2022 target when work started in December 2019. The project will shift three miles of 132 off Maze Boulevard to a route half a mile north near Kansas Avenue.
Weather is one reason for the rapid work. The past two winters have had below-average rain — bad for the water supply but good for the crews moving dirt and pouring concrete.
The project also has benefited from early relocation of utilities and a lack of conflicts in the right of way, project manager John Rawles said by email Friday. He is a senior civil engineer for the city.
“We anticipate that the construction will be substantially completed by the end of this year,” Rawles said. “If we are able to meet this expectation, the facility will likely be fully or partially open to traffic while the contractor continues with finishing work.”
Bay Cities Paving & Grading of Concord is building the project on a $92.05 million contract. It will have one lane each way without cross traffic from Dakota Avenue to the existing Needham Street bridge over Ninth Street.
The project includes new bridges at Rosemore Avenue, Carpenter Road, Emerald Avenue and Highway 99. This last bridge has emerged in recent weeks, the most visible part of the work so far.
A second phase, expected by 2028, will widen the new highway segment to four lanes. It eventually could stretch another seven miles west to Gates Road.
The funding for the first phase comes from several local, state and federal sources.
Officials have talked since the 1950s about a new 132 route. The part of Maze close to the city has too many homes, businesses and other uses for efficient vehicle travel.
Updates on the construction, including detours, are at www.stateroute132.com.
This story was originally published April 25, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
