How the tricky angle of a Modesto-area intersection has been fixed for drivers
Drivers now have stoplights at the intersection of Claus Road and Highway 108 in Riverbank.
The California Department of Transportation completed the $2.25 million project on Thursday, June 11. To help drivers adjust, it began with flashing red lights, acting as a three-way stop sign. It will be a full traffic signal, including green and yellow phases, by this Thursday.
For decades, the junction was controlled by only a stop sign where Claus dead-ends at 108. The highway curves as it runs atop a Stanislaus River bluff.
Caltrans hired Mountain Cascade Inc. of Livermore for the job. It included turn lanes, pavement, retaining walls and improved drainage.
Claus has seen more traffic with the growth in Riverbank and northeast Modesto. Other parts of the road are being widened to four lanes in separate projects in both cities.
Claus will be the east end of the North County Corridor’s first phase, which starts at Oakdale Road. It will become the new Highway 108 upon completion of the $144 million project in 2028.
Still another project has upgraded a neighborhood just west of Claus and east of the Riverbank city limit. Topeka and Santa Fe streets got water and sewer lines, sidewalks, gutters and lighting, at a cost of $8.3 million.
Stanislaus County Public Works has similar projects in south and west Modesto and other unincorporated areas. Most of the funding is from federal aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.
