The work now taking place at the Austin Road interchange and Highway 99 isn’t a precursor to major traffic flow improvements or the physical advance of the envisioned Mother Lode of future Manteca jobs — the 1,050-acre Austin Road Business Park.

Caltrans is making improvements to drainage and part of the ramps that was planned in connection with the widening of Highway 99 between the 120 Bypass to Arch Road.

The Manteca City Council earlier this year awarded George Reed Construction a contract to upgrade and increase the capacity of the ramps for truck traffic as well as install signals at off-ramps on both sides of the interchange, Austin Road and Moffat Boulevard, and Woodward Avenue and Moffat Boulevard. Moffat would also be widened between Austin and Woodward.

The Austin Road Business Park partnership has already put up $400,000 for the work and the city shifted $1.3 million in development fees collected for major infrastructure improvements from funding the extension of Atherton Drive between Union Road and Airport Way to the Austin interchange project. Proceeding with the Austin work, however, without a second phase that involves upgrading the Union Pacific Railroad crossing and tying it into traffic signals similar as at Moffat Boulevard and Spreckels Avenue would be counterproductive.

That’s because if for some reason Austin Road Business Park doesn’t go through the designed improvements on Moffat in the first phase wouldn’t make much sense.

That’s not saying the business park won’t move forward.

The partnership has entitlements although a development agreement is not in place. But even without a development agreement, the environmental studies are done and the entitlements approved which would allow a project to proceed. A development agreement adds certainty in terms of what fees are expected as well as greater details of what is expected from the developer besides following basic city development guidelines.

And while the work on the first phase of the interchange improvements could go forward without the railroad crossing component, the business park can’t.

That’s because the council conditioned starting the project based on traffic movement requirements for Highway 99 dictated by Caltrans to make sure truck traffic could be adequately accommodated. The partnership also has to put up $600,000 for the railroad portion. That hasn’t happened yet.

There is an agreement in place for the partners to get reimbursed for the $1 million from increased property taxes as the business park develops.

“The city is still committed to the business park project,” City Manager Karen McLaughlin said.

Within the next month or so city staff expects to bring before council the issue of whether to proceed with the first phase improvements or delay them indefinitely.

Meanwhile, one major detail needed for the development agreement — the creation of a sub-regional fee to help defray the cost of Ripon streets that would be impacted by the project — has yet to be hammered out.

McLaughlin noted the Atherton Drive extension that has been delayed due to the shifting of funds to a project that the council viewed as a higher priority due to the job potential could still move forward as approved residential development takes place along the corridor.

The city manager said developers could put the money up as their projects near Atherton Drive and then get reimbursed as growth fees are collected.



To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com