The Lathrop City Council has been waiting months for the traffic signal at Harlan Road and Stonebridge Lane to become a reality.
And while its installation is still months away, the intersection that gets the most complaints of anywhere else in the city will soon include protected left turns for those going into and out of the neighborhood and the street that serves Joseph Widmer Elementary School.
On Monday, the council voted to award a contract to Studebaker Brown Electric for the construction of both the traffic signal at Harlan and Stonebridge as well as the one at River Islands Parkway and McKee Boulevard – packaging the two together in an attempt to save money.
The $522,900 bid was the lowest of four received for the project, and beat out Tennyson Electric, the next lowest bid, by more than $20,000. With a bid alternative of $57,500 added to the project and a 10 percent contingency, the total cost of the installation of both traffic signals will be $638,440.
Part of the holdup on getting the Harlan and Stonebridge signal in place, according to staff, centered around designing a signal for a road that initially was built without plans for one – essentially redesigning the intersection from scratch. With that work now completed and the project bid officially accepted, the specifications of those plans can now be sent to the company that manufactures the signal arms so that the work on building the custom supports can begin. That process, according to Senior Civil Engineer Michael King, will take at least three months before Studebaker Brown would be able to begin the work of installing them.
The council has previously approved using Measure C Funds to pay for the signal at Stonebridge Lane and Harlan Road, but because of additional work staff requested that the council approve an additional transfer of $40,000 for the Measure C Fund – money generated by the one-cent sales tax increase approved by voters in November of 2014 – as well as $65,000 from the Gas Tax fund to cover what was not included in the 2017/18 fiscal year budget. The money from the Measure C fund will go towards the construction of the traffic signal while the Gas Tax fund will cover the slurry seal required for Harlan Road.
Last week the City of Lathrop officially cut the ribbon on the Bradshaw’s Crossing Bridge that connects River Islands to the new development west of I-5 by way of the River Islands Parkway bridge across the San Joaquin River. Before the bridge was opened, River Islands Parkway dead-ended at McKee Boulevard, and the signal will help control traffic at what is now a four-way intersection. 

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or 209.249.3544.