New 7th Street Bridge in Modesto gets final funding. The schedule, some history
All of the money is finally in hand to replace the Seventh Street Bridge in Modesto, a once-grand structure that is barely drivable today.
The California Transportation Commission voted unanimously Friday, June 27, to approve a $15 million grant. Federal and local sources bring the total to $134 million for this new crossing of the Tuolumne River.
It is expected to be ready in early 2028, said an email from David Leamon, director of Stanislaus County Public Works. The old bridge will remain open during early construction phases, then close for good in spring 2026.
The replacement will have two vehicle lanes each way, vs. one now. The west side will feature a bicycle path down into Tuolumne River Regional Park. The east side will have a sidewalk wide enough for wheelchairs, which is lacking now.
The current bridge was completed in 1916 in the Beaux Arts style of architecture. It was an early example of the “cantilevered concrete” technique, with steel trusses covered in concrete, according to the project website.
This surface began crumbling early, prompting the first speed and weight limits in the 1930s. They were tightened in the 1960s and again in the 1970s. Today, the bridge is off-limits to semi-trucks and other vehicles over 4,000 pounds. The top speed for everyone else is 25 mph to avoid vibrations that could do further damage.
It just might be the worst bridge in the state, said Jose Luis Caceres, director of programming and program delivery at the Stanislaus Council of Governments. He was speaking to the state commission, which met in Sacramento and over Zoom.
“You can’t drive an ambulance over this bridge,” Caceres said. “If someone needs help over there, you have to take the long way around to help them, and then the long way back to take them to the hospital.”
How will bridge connect with Crows Landing?
The project will ease Seventh Street’s link to Crows Landing Road, now an awkward Y-shaped junction. The latter route serves south Modesto neighborhoods as well as local and long-haul truckers.
The bridge’s north end will connect with an improved intersection at B Street and Tuolumne Boulevard, including the freight railroad crossing. It is just inside the city of Modesto, a partner on the project with StanCOG and the county.
A federal bridge program is paying about $92 million of the cost. The $15 million from the state will go toward the intersection upgrades at each end. It is from the Local Partnership Program, which rewards cities and counties with their own transportation taxes. Measure L, passed by Stanislaus voters in 2016, covers most of the remaining costs.
The bridge will stretch 1,238 feet across the main Tuolumne channel and its floodplain. It will have concrete box girders atop seven footings, meaning less fishery disturbance than the current bridge’s 14 footings.
That part of the river park is little-used, but the new bridge will come with a pedestrian plaza on the north end. This is the Gateway portion of the seven-mile park and someday could draw many pedestrians and bicyclists from downtown.
What about the lion statues?
Two lion statues have stood at each end of the bridge since the beginning. They, too, have suffered from concrete sloughing, but they will be preserved at the urging of local fans. Two will be refurbished and placed at the pedestrian plaza. The others will be taken to the county Public Works office on Morgan Road. One might be put on display while the other awaits a new home.
The bridge project will begin by autumn with relocation of utility lines that cross the river. The main construction contract will be awarded by next spring by the county Board of Supervisors. Crews can work in the channel only in summer, when salmon are not present.
The tight quarters mean the new bridge must be built in the old one’s footprint. The closure next spring will mean detours mainly to the Highway 99 and Ninth Street bridges. Both of these routes have truck traffic that will be eased once Seventh Street can bear heavy loads, too.
The project website notes that the Yokuts people were the first riverside residents. They were forced out by European settlers and also suffered from disease.
Modesto was established in 1870 and relied for several years on a ferry to get across the Tuolumne. The first bridge on Seventh Street was built in 1884 and replaced just three years later. The site also had a trestle for the railroad, a popular form of travel. The current one will serve the upcoming Altamont Corridor Express expansion.
Modesto had about 4,000 residents when the current bridge was built for about $110,000. It served from 1917 to 1933 as the original Highway 99, which then shifted to the old Ninth Street Bridge. The mid-1960s brought the current 99 alignment between Fifth and Sixth streets. The bridge on Ninth was replaced in 2004, widened to four lanes.
This story was originally published June 28, 2025 at 12:00 PM.
