State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) has written a letter to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) in hopes of snagging state money to replace the 108-year-old Seventh Street Bridge between Ceres and Modesto and the State Route 132 West Gates to Dakota project.
“Our community has dealt with years of underinvestment, especially when it comes to infrastructure,” said Senator Alvarado-Gil. “But with these projects, we can turn a corner. Improving transportation, shortening travel times, making it easier for people to get to jobs and services — these aren’t just road upgrades. They translate to improving the quality of life for our families and their future.”
The Seventh Street Bridge, built in 1916, suffers from structural deficiencies and is limited to a four-ton weight restriction.
Stanislaus County Public Works Director David Leamon said the estimate to replace the bridge is now at $75 million plus another $5 million in county costs for the future signal at Seventh Street and Crows Landing Road and city of Modesto costs of approximately $6.2 million for upgrades to the Seventh / Tuolumne / B Street intersection.
In 2021 the county estimated that the bridge replacement would cost $50 million.
“Inflation and construction inflation have been tough in the last three to four years and prices have significantly increased,” commented Leamon.
In her letter to CTC Chairwoman Tanisha Taylor, Alvarado-Gil said the cantilevered concrete arched bridge has “a Sufficiency Rating of two out of 100 …These deficiencies make the bridge vulnerable to storm and seismic events that could potentially cause catastrophic failure. The existing two-lane bridge also has functional deficiencies due to its inadequate width, lack of bicycle facilities and narrow sidewalks. As the risk for catastrophic bridge failures increases and the vulnerability for pedestrians and cyclists remain a concern, this project is critical for the safety of my constituents and those who utilize adjacent roadways, such as the State Route 99 freeway.”
The replacement will accommodate modern traffic, including emergency vehicles and buses, and add bike lanes and sidewalks for multi-modal travel.
State Route 132 is a major east-west corridor connecting Highway 99 and I-5, supporting freight transportation from Valley farms to the Port of Oakland. Currently routed along Maze Boulevard, an outdated two-lane road, 132 faces heavy congestion and safety issues.
Calling both projects “long overdue,” Modesto Vice Mayor Eric Alvarez commented that the Seventh Street Bridge “poses significant safety risks and lacks basic accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists.”
He also cited how Highway 132 handles over 8.2 million tons of freight annually, but “relies on infrastructure designed in the 1930s.
“The corridor has seen 1,400 crashes in the past decade, resulting in 60 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries. Traffic reroutes trucks through local streets, worsening air quality in already disadvantaged communities.”
The historic Lions Bridge has only been able to remain in service to carry 16,000 vehicles per day because of temporary reinforcements under its 1,100-foot span. One of the longest in the region, the bridge is the joint responsibility of the county and the city of Modesto. In 1979 the city installed “temporary” steel supports across some of the spans. The underneath of the bridge bears wooden supports to absorb shock because of missing concrete. Leamon blamed the deficit “because about a hundred trucks went over a weight restricted bridge of four tons because Caltrans closed the ramp on Crows Landing in 1999 and so it was supported by air.”
