Santa Fe, Hatch Road intersection near Hughson set for two-week closure

Starting Friday, officials will fully close the intersection of Hatch Road and Santa Fe Avenue near Hughson for two weeks while major work is done to improve the crossroad.

That will create an inconvenience for motorists who use Santa Fe and the busy Ceres-to-Hughson route on East Hatch Road. The Stanislaus County project will close the intersection from Friday to Aug. 5.

Local agencies are setting up detours for motorists to use during the two-week period.

Starting Monday, early preparation work is expected to close one lane of Santa Fe until the full intersection closure.

To minimize the effect on regional traffic, construction crews will work 24 hours a day, six days a week to complete the intersection improvements within the two-week period, officials said.

“It will be an inconvenience, but for a much needed, long-awaited project,” said Jaylen French, community development director for Hughson. “The public has been waiting for this for several years.”

The county is coordinating the project with Hughson, the California Department of Transportation and other agencies. The detours will reroute traffic as follows:

▪  Northbound traffic on Santa Fe will use Whitmore Avenue west to Baldwin Road or east to Geer Road.

▪  Southbound traffic on Santa Fe will take Yosemite Boulevard (Highway 132) in Empire to Geer Road.

▪  Eastbound traffic on Hatch Road will turn on Baldwin Road south to Whitmore.

▪  Traffic on westbound Hatch, east of Santa Fe, will use Geer Road north to Yosemite or south to Whitmore.

The intersection work caps a recent project to widen a section of Hatch Road east of Ceres and relieve traffic congestion in the area.

County Public Works Director Matt Machado said East Hatch Road has seen major congestion for many years, often creating a line of vehicles at the four-way stop at Santa Fe.

“Santa Fe Avenue is busier and busier every year,” Machado added. “Hatch and Santa Fe are regional corridors that have seen a lot of traffic growth, and this is an effort to accommodate the growth of our corridors.”

In October, the Board of Supervisors approved a $1.45 million contract for George Reed Inc. of Modesto to upgrade the intersection. The plan includes a wider crossroad with signal lights and turn lanes.

The county also needs to raise the base of the intersection 1 1/2 feet to make it level with the Ceres Main Canal crossing, Machado said.

After the two-week project, work on the railroad crossing is needed before the traffic signals are activated in the fall, officials said.

For more information on the intersection closure, call Jaylen French at Hughson City Hall at 209-883-4054 or send an email to jfrench@hughson.org.

This story was originally published July 17, 2016 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Santa Fe, Hatch Road intersection near Hughson set for two-week closure."