Manteca’s in-house street crew will repair large cracks and then seal them in northwest neighborhoods covering 1.5 square miles over the course of the next two years.

The new endeavor comes the same week as crews completed the creation of a dedicated right turn lane from southbound Main Street to westbound Yosemite Avenue in downtown Manteca.

The work on the cracks will be done in six phases — three this year and three next year — in the area bounded by Lathrop Road on the north, the Tidewater Bikeway on the east, Louise Avenue on the north, and Airport Way on the west.

The large scale crack repair project is made possible by voter passage of the three-quarter center Measure Q sales tax that was put in place for 20 years.

The work is in addition to what is being funded with the city’s share of state gas tax receipts.

One of the gas tax projects involving street maintenance on a large swath of streets is now underway through August.

Most of Manteca’s residential streets east of Highway 99/Button Avenue and south of Louise Avenue will receive rubber cape seals or micro-surfacing.

The handful of blocks that won’t be touched are mostly streets have been put in place during the last six years with the exception of Azalea Drive, Inderbitzen Way and the northern part of Vasconcellos Avenue.

The project includes placement of new striping, new ADA ramp cuts and installation of speed lumps fronting schools and parks.

The current council made it city policy to add speed lumps by schools and parks in older neighborhoods when street resurfacing is done.

That means Joshua Cowell School will get speed lumps along Pestana Avenue to slow down traffic.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabuleltin.com