A long underserved community in Stanislaus County will get new sidewalks, bike lanes and more, but residents will still need to wait seven years before construction begins.
California Department of Transportation officials presented plans for the new State Route 132 Pavement Anchor Project during the Empire Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) meeting Oct. 22.
Residents of Empire, an unincorporated Stanislaus County community east of Modesto, were eager to learn about the project. It will include reconstruction and updates to sidewalks, roads, traffic lights and bike lanes in the area.
The nine-mile project will start in downtown Modesto just off Highway 99 on Ninth Street, then connect with Highway 132/Yosemite Boulevard, and continue into Empire. But construction is not slated to begin until at least winter 2032.
Community members call out unsafe roads
Community members in attendance expressed excitement for the project, but also emphasized its urgency. Many have said the work is long overdue in the area, which is prone to frequent car crashes, high traffic and flooding due to the lack of drainage without proper infrastructure like sidewalks.
Rafael Rodriguez attended the October MAC meeting, and echoed others frustrations with the ongoing infrastructure issues in Empire. During the meeting, he spoke in Spanish about how the traffic lights and the unsafe roadways makes his fellow Spanish-speaking neighbors incredibly nervous, to the point that they are afraid to drive or walk the major roads.
“For almost nine years, we as a community have been asking for these changes to be made. There’s been so many accidents since then, and it makes people very nervous to drive or walk on these streets,” Rodriguez said, “It’s important these changes are made because the effect it has on us to leave the house everyday and be afraid to walk or drive, it takes a toll on your mental state.”
Plus, a community member at the MAC meeting explained that the neighborhood’s inadequate drainage causes heavy flooding during the rainy season, with water rising high enough to reach people’s vehicles. The resident’s car was damaged by the water and required hundreds of dollars in repair costs.
Caltrans Project Manager Dino Khloth said that the agency recognized the need in Empire. He cited the area’s outdated and run-down infrastructure detailed in an Automated Pavement Condition Surveys done in the area.
“We hope this project will increase mobility in the community through the installation of new sidewalks and bikeways that close gaps in existing pedestrian and bicycle pathways, respectively, and increase ride quality through the construction of pavement rehabilitation,” Khloth said.
Empire a majority Latino community
One of many unincorporated communities in the county, Empire’s largest ethnic demographic is Latino, comprising 60.5% of the population, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. The community is also considered high poverty, with 25.5% of families and 28.7% of the population living below the poverty line, according to Census data.
The complete project will deliver extensive upgrades through Modesto and Empire, including 68 new or modernized curb ramps, 11,400 feet of new or improved sidewalks, 6,700 feet of upgraded crosswalks, 40 modified streetlights, 25 updated traffic signals, and the rehabilitation of 28.8 lane miles of pavement.
These enhancements aim to create safer, more accessible streets for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike, Khloth said. Another major highlight he pointed out was the addition of 12.2 miles of new bikeways with two different designs, significantly expanding bicycle infrastructure in the region.
With a construction cost of $131.3 million, the project is scheduled to begin in winter 2032 or spring 2033. Officials said work is expected to last more than two years, with completion by summer or autumn 2035.
The Empire-area project is one of many area upgrades planned to Highway 132, which runs from Tracy in the west to Coulterville in the east. In 2022, a three-mile bypass was completed in west Modesto. Another five miles of highway bypass were approved for that project this summer.
Ximena Loeza is the bilingual communities reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact her at ximena@cvlocaljournalism.org.