Stanislaus County begins 3-year project to build major expressway. What to know
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- Stanislaus County begins $144M expressway project to ease east-west traffic.
- Roselle Avenue closure for overcrossing work will start in fall, last months.
- Full 18-mile corridor aims to reduce congestion, boost safety and efficiency.
A contractor has begun work on a long-awaited project to improve traffic flow east and west across the northern area of Stanislaus County.
The 2.4-mile first phase of the North County Corridor will run between Oakdale Road and Claus Road just north of Modesto.
From the Oakdale-Claribel road intersection near Riverbank’s Crossroads shopping center, the four-lane expressway will run south on Oakdale for a quarter mile and east across land to Claus Road, with overcrossings at Roselle Avenue and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line and Terminal Avenue.
The three-year project will impact traffic on Oakdale, Claribel and Claus roads and also cause disruptions such as the closure of Roselle Avenue for months, county Public Works Director David Leamon said. The Roselle closure will likely begin in the fall, between Plainview Road in the south and Claribel in the north.
Drivers still will have access to the Bel Passi baseball complex on Roselle, but a route for Riverbank students going to Enochs High School will be blocked. Leamon said the closure is necessary for equipment moving dirt to build the Roselle overcrossing and interchange ramps.
The county hopes the road closure will be less than a year. “We will try to keep it open as much as possible,” Leamon said. “We have a million and a half yards of dirt to move. There’s going to be so many scrapers running, it won’t be safe for cars.”
Some work has begun to move utility lines on the eastern side of the project.
In February, Stanislaus County awarded a $144 million construction contract to Bay Cities/Myers & Sons Joint Venture to build the route, which is one phase of an 18-mile highway project to carry traffic between the Highway 99 Kiernan Avenue interchange and a link with Highway 120 east of Oakdale.
The stated benefits are reducing congestion, eliminating safety hazards at rail crossings, reducing air pollution from idling trucks and efficiently moving goods and services.
The plans are to complete the first phase in summer 2028. The second phase, from Claus to Albers Road, and the third, from Albers to Highway 120, will be built in the decade between 2030 and 2040, followed by the final phase between Tully and Oakdale roads.
Stanislaus County is responsible for construction. Once the phases are complete, it will be the new route for state Highway 108, with the state responsible for maintenance.
Mostly daytime construction
Leamon said daytime construction activity is planned in the next three years, though some work at night could be done. The county hopes to keep traffic delays to a minimum.
“To say there will be no impact would be untrue,” Leamon said. “You can’t build a project like this and not have impacts along the way.”
Leamon said the county is working to provide closure notices and updates through social media, roadside digital signs and other messaging.
The construction period is also an opportunity to fix smaller problems, including a blocked drain line at the intersection of Roselle and Claribel.
Melissa Sandoval of Riverbank has urged local officials for a few years to repair the failed drain. It causes flooding on the east side of Roselle during the rain reason, damaging the house where Sandoval and her father live.
Leamon said a contractor will replace the failed drain with a new pipe.
This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 2:10 PM.
