These detours soon will start as Modesto finally gets new Seventh Street bridge
The Seventh Street Bridge in Modesto will close for good March 16 so its replacement finally can be built.
The project will require detours for about two years while the new span rises over the Tuolumne River, said David Leamon, public works director for Stanislaus County. He spoke at a Monday evening meeting on the project.
The old bridge will close at 10 a.m., after next Monday’s morning commute. The new one will be erected in the same footprint by early 2028.
Drivers will be detoured to the Ninth Street and Highway 99 bridges. The project will not block visitors on foot or bicycle to this part of Tuolumne River Regional Park.
The current bridge was completed in 1916 in the handsome Beaux Arts style. It has had speed and weight limits since the 1930s due to crumbling concrete.
The new bridge is being built on an $85.2 million contact with MCM Construction Inc. of North Highlands in Sacramento County.
The total cost is about $127 million, including design, right of way and street improvements at each end of the bridge. A federal grant provided about $92 million. The state added $15 million. The county’s Measure L sales tax covered most of the rest.
The new span will double the motor-vehicle lanes to four. They will be flanked by improved bike and pedestrian paths to the park. The north end will have a plaza with displays about the historic bridge, including two of its four lion statues.
Monday’s meeting was at the Stanislaus County Agricultural Center, off Crows Landing Road about three miles south of the river. That route connects to downtown on the current bridge, but the structure cannot handle semis and other heavy vehicles.
One of the detours involves Ninth Street from Pecos Avenue to G Street. The other is on Highway 99 from the Crows Landing Road interchange to G.
More details on the project are at 7thstreetbridge.org.
This story was originally published March 11, 2026 at 9:55 AM.
