Councilman Steve DeBrum is getting tired of huge tumbleweeds growing through the wrought iron fencing along the sidewalk on the portion of Yosemite Avenue that is part of the $18 million Highway 99 interchange upgrade that was completed over two years ago.

DeBrum hasn’t let a council meeting pass in the last three months where he hasn’t brought the subject up noting he receives complaints about the “ugly condition” of the weed-infested interchange especially after the decorative island planter was completed earlier this summer.

Now it looks as though DeBrum’s one-man crusade to clean-up Manteca’s main entrance will finally come to an end.

Public Works Director Mark Houghton told DeBrum and the rest of the council Tuesday that the contractor who is installing the landscaping at the interchange is expected to clear out the weeds by next week to prepare for planting.

The planting will consist of ornamental shrubs and trees in all four quadrants of the interchange.

The contractor awarded the project has to maintain it for three years. That means the city won’t incur any maintenance costs until late 2013. Once the city takes it over maintenance it is expected to cost more than $30,000 a year including labor, water, and replacement costs.