Highway 132 bypass could be extended 5 miles west from Modesto. What’s the cost, timeline?
About a fifth of the funding is in hand to extend the Highway 132 bypass that opened in Modesto in late 2022.
The initial project is a two-lane expressway from Highway 99 to Dakota Avenue. It runs for three miles just south of Kansas Avenue, taking traffic off Maze Boulevard.
The extension would stretch five miles to Gates Road. So far, about $88 million has been secured from local, state and federal sources. That money is going to detailed engineering and right-of-way purchases, which could be completed next year.
Construction would follow if another $305 million or so comes through, with an opening as soon as 2029.
StanCOG board got update on 132
The Stanislaus Council of Governments provided an update at an August meeting and by email to The Modesto Bee. The agency oversees transportation funding with a 16-member board made up of county supervisors and city council members.
The 132 bypass has been discussed since the late 1950s, when the California Department of Transportation started buying right of way. Maze has been a state highway since the 1930s, but it has many homes, businesses and other destinations along it. The route serves Bay Area commuters, long-distance truckers and other drivers.
Bay Cities Paving & Grading of Concord built the first bypass stretch on a $92 million contract. It has bridges at Rosemore Avenue, Carpenter Road and 99.
The next leg would run directly west from a new Dakota Avenue bridge and also cross over Hart Road. Access from the west would be via a roundabout at Gates Road, connecting also with Paradise Road.
The project also would change how drivers get between 132 and 99, said Tony Harris, manager of strategic project delivery, at the August meeting. They now have to make turns on Needham and a few other surface streets. The work would include “flyover” ramps between the two state highways.
Measure L sales tax is biggest source
The funding so far includes about $45 million from the half-percent sales tax approved by county voters in 2016. The state has kicked in about $30 million and the federal government about $13 million.
StanCOG plans to eventually widen 132 to four lanes between 99 and Gates and add an interchange at Carpenter. It has a projected cost of $105 million to $140 million and opening date of 2040.
The first bypass leg took decades to achieve due to short funding and debate over the route. The next phase is happening at “light speed as far as government is concerned,” Supervisor Terry Withrow said at the meeting.
Updates on the project are at www.sr132west.com.
