Manteca Councilman Mike Morowit doesn’t mind taking the flack for the $3 million in road work now underway on North Main Street.

The comments on social media have come fast and furious.

*It’s a waste of money putting in fencing and medians.

*It makes it inconvenient to get to stores, restaurants, and such.

*It looks ugly.

*What’s going to happen when someone strikes the median and hits the fence?

Morowit would prefer to be pelted with accusatory postings of incompetence aimed at him, his council colleagues, and the city staff than hear the news again that another teen girl was thrown into a windshield after being struck by a car in the middle of a crosswalk at Edison Street at North Main Street as happened in 2019.

Morowit said such comments are a small price to pay knowing it will likely save lives, reduce bodily trauma, and save his constituents and others a collective $66 million over a 10-year a period.

Morowit during council’s meeting noted Manteca “earned the $3 million” grant adding “and that’s not a good thing.”

The reason is simple.

There are not a lot of state funds available to help pay for such projects.

In order to get it, Manteca had to meet and exceed a lot of thresholds for basically having fatalities, serious injuries, and property damage way above the state average.

The stretch of North Main between Alameda Street and Northgate Drive between Jan. 1, 2017 and Dec. 31, 2021 had accident rates 10 percent above the state average.

It was where 19 percent of the city’s fatal accidents happened.

Sixty percent of all accidents on the stretch of North Main were either T-bone or broadsides, head-on, or pedestrian vehicle collisions.

They are the type of accidents most likely to be fatal and produce great bodily harm.

Morowit said drivers misusing the continuous left turn lane had turned it into a “suicide lane.”

Instead of pulling into it from a left turn out of  a driveway and stopping if they can’t immediately merge into the traffic flow, drivers often times travel in the lane creating a hazard for otters.

“People will learn where they can turn or make U-turns to reach places,” Morowit said.

Engineers took data that shows how much improvements such as:

*raised medians can reduce accident rates by 25 percent.

*median fencing can cut pedestrian injures and accidents by 35 percent.

*added intersection lighting reduces accidents by 40 percent.

*separated bike lanes cut crashes by 35 percent.

*a hybrid HAWK pedestrian signal will reduce accidents by 55 percent.

The state took all of that into account and plugged in the average financial losses that could have been avoided based on the five-year period examined to determine the investment of $3 million in state funds would result in reducing direct financial losses by $66 million over the course of 10 years.

The loss of life can result in multi-million dollar financial fallout while medical bills associate with serious injuries often soar past $50,000 according to various insurance research firms.

And keep in mind, “minor” T-bone collisions minus bodily injuries cost an average of $9,000.

Toss in lost work time and such as well as higher insurance premiums, and the work being done means the chances of one of Morowit’s constituents taking a $9,000 hit trying to turn left — or someone else doing so —  on North Main Street will be substantially reduced.

Morowit lauded city staff for noticing the problem and researching available grants so the work could be done without using local tax dollars.

Most of the median and fencing has been put in place as well as ADA compliance issues involving sidewalk.

Among the upcoming improvements are the HAWK pedestrian signal at Edison Street, new pavement resurfacing, bike lanes, and new lane markings.

“The pavement work is a bonus,” Morowit said as it was included by the state to allow new pavement markings, high profile crosswalk markings, and bike lanes to be put in place.

A traditional pedestrian crossing with overhead flashing signal will be installed on Jason Street a part of a Safe Routes to School Project now getting underway at various locations in Manteca.