How a busy Modesto thoroughfare got a Virginia Corridor Trail bridge in one day
A crew set out at 3 a.m. Friday to place a trail bridge across Standiford Avenue within 22 hours. Mission accomplished on this seventh phase of the Virginia Corridor Trail in Modesto.
The $11.3 million extension will open between Woodrow and Union avenues by early 2027. The existing three-mile path south to Needham Street gets plenty of visitors on foot and wheels.
A short stretch of Standiford was closed until 1 a.m. Saturday so a crane could ease the prefabricated steel bridge into place.
It was done in three sections: The 115-foot-long main span directly over the roadway, and pieces about 60 feet long on the flanks.
The south side was placed Thursday, without any need to close Standiford. The north side happened by noon Friday. The main section was in place by 7 p.m., although related work continued under spotlights after dark.
How is the city paying for the work?
A&B Construction of Oakland is building the extension under an $8.56 million contract awarded by the City Council a year ago. The total cost also covers engineering, inspections and an upgraded city water main. Modesto tapped several local and state funding sources.
The bridge was made by Contech Engineered Solutions at a plant in Alexandria, Minnesota. Folsom-based consultant Neil Erickson watched the work Friday and explained the process to The Modesto Bee.
The bridge is in the style of a historic railroad trestle, which none of Contech’s closer plants could handle. Four sections were delivered on semi-trucks to Modesto. Two of them were fused on site to create the main span over Standiford.
The concrete abutments had been poured on each side a few months ago. A&B also had paved the ground-level portions of the trail and moved earth into slopes leading up to the bridge. That structure still needs a concrete surface for public use.
The on-time performance might suggest that such projects are simple. They are not.
Each earlier concrete pour was inspected by someone independent of the contractor. On Friday, one of them used a tape measure to verify that the Minnesota-made steel pieces would fit snugly on the abutments. Another had a more high-tech surveyor’s tool to line up the pieces just right. The crew got through the long but not terribly hot day with the aid of Red Bull and Gatorade.
Why is it called the Virginia Corridor?
The new bridge looks like a trestle for a reason: The Virginia Corridor had been part of a railroad from 1912 to 2000. It began as the Tidewater Southern Railway between the Hilmar area and Stockton. Pieces remain today as branches of the Union Pacific Railroad.
The Tidewater Southern trains were notoriously slow, carrying mostly feed corn on Ninth Street, Virginia Avenue and other stretches. Standiford was one of the many at-grade crossings, annoying people headed for Vintage Faire Mall and other destinations.
Standiford now has a railroad-inspired bridge that will help walkers, bikers, wheelchair users and others get across. The Union Avenue end is mostly single-family houses, within easy reach by early 2027 of a trail to downtown’s north edge.
The seventh phase will have landscaping and lighting similar to the first six. The trail has an even wider bridge across Briggsmore Avenue, and other long segments without cross traffic. At Roseburg Avenue, users can read more about the rail history.
This story was originally published July 18, 2026 at 12:12 PM.
