Durango-based company MODSTREET will be bringing its urban creations in the form of new bus platforms to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the FIFA World Cup Finals.
MODSTREET, which was founded in Durango in 2020 by Maggie Kavan and Michael Carrier, creates innovative urban structures like pedlets – sidewalk extensions that don’t require asphalt or pavement construction made from steel and non-slip decking. It also makes bus shelters, outdoor kiosks and outdoor dining spaces – also called parklets.
Durango locals and visitors have inevitably seen – and likely walked on – many of MODSTREET’s creations while in town.
MODSTREET was responsible for extending sidewalks on Main Avenue through the use of platforms without the ground having to be broken.
“We were able to give the city of Durango a product that enabled them to widen their sidewalks without committing millions of dollars to putting concrete out there and moving utilities,” said CEO Roger Zalneraitis.
Zalneraitis called the FIFA build MODSTREET’s “largest project ever.”
The company is building 10 bus platforms at 1,300 square feet each that will be installed at the stadium for FIFA attendees coming in from the transit center, he said. The platforms must be built intricately and carefully, and align exactly with New Jersey zoning and accessibility regulations and the 35-page list of specifications given by the contracting company.
“It’s a 13,000-square-foot project, and one reason the engineering firm liked (our product) was the modularity,” he said. “They see this as something that can relatively easily be stood up. It’s a huge platform, right? But then (it can be) taken down, stored and then used again in the future.”
The building and shipping process for the platforms takes about six months, Zalneraitis said. The company began work on the project in December.
He called the FIFA project “something special.”
“What I’m proud of is realizing that this company that I help run is now doing something that’s going to be on a global stage,” he said. “That’s neat to think about. We’re going to have literally tens of thousands of people tramping across this stuff, and it’ll be great to see how it performs.”
epond@durangoherald.com
