The extra 12 cents a gallon that California motorists will start paying Nov. 1 could mean an additional $1.5 million a year for Manteca to repair streets.
That projection is based on a League of California Cities analysis of the original gas tax package that called for a 20 cent a gallon gas hike which would have given Manteca $2.5 million based on established state formulas. Gov. Jerry Brown brokered a deal last week he signed into law that was based on a gas tax of 12 cents a gallon — 60 percent of the original proposal.
San Joaquin County could receive $13.8 million in additional funds as opposed to $23 million under the original plan.
Manteca currently receives $1.6 million a year as its share of California gas tax for road maintenance. That is augmented with $1.1 million from Measure K, the countywide half cent transportation sales tax.
If the revenue projections hold, Manteca in a year or so would see its state gas tax receipts nearly doubled to $3.1 million. Assuming Measure K receipts hold up, the city would then have $4.2 million a year for road maintenance.
That will help the city somewhat in dealing with its backlog of streets with crumbling pavement and potholes.
A pavement management survey in 2014 determined Manteca needed to spend $37.5 million over the next five years to avoid preventing 180.14 miles of city streets from deteriorating to a point they need evenly costlier reconstruction. Street pavement experts from Harris & Associates surveyed 219 miles of municipal streets. The survey excluded all streets that had either been put in place or had maintenance done on them within the previous two years.
The report noted “delays in repairs can result in costs increasing as much as 30-fold. In other words, it is not simply ‘pay today or pay tomorrow’ but rather a ‘pay today or pay more tomorrow’ proposition.” Overall pavement maintenance cost is reduced by the timely application of crack seals and slurry seals before the subgrade fails and requires pavement reconstruction
The gas tax that was last raised in 1994 will go up from 35.7 cents to 47.3 cents on Nov. 1 to help generate more than $52 billion over the next 10 years. Taxes on diesel fuel will more than double to 36 cents a gallon.
The approved deal creates a new annual DMV vehicle fee starting in 2018 ranging from $25 for cars valued at under $5,000 to $175 for cars worth $60,000 or more. In addition all electric cars will pay $100 a year. The fees will be paid when your DMV registration is due.
The money, more than $52 billion over the next 10 years, will pay for repairs to state highways and local streets, along with improvements to bridges, public transit, and biking and walking trails.
It will also put $400 million toward extending Altamont Corridor Express service to Merced by 2023. That will include stops in downtown Manteca as well as Ripon, Modesto, and Turlock-Ceres.