When Daniels Street was extended west of Airport Way in 2008 it opened a new era in Manteca shopping and recreation.

It allowed the building of Costco, the development of the Stadium Retail Center now anchored by Kohl’s as well as the creation of the city’s Big League Dreams sports complex complete with six replica Major League Baseball fields and an indoor soccer arena.

The latest extension from where the street was once stubbed by Costco to McKinley Avenue will have an even bigger impact on Manteca’s economy.

The $9.4 million project provides access to the 500-room Great Wolf indoor water park opening Tuesday, Sept. 1, as well as another 100 acres the city owns that is being pursued as a family entertainment zone.

Already a brew pub is interested in the FEZ as well as the Calgary Flames that are interested in developing a practice facility for their Stockton Heat affiliate west of Great Wolf that the city is exploring. It would  also include a public ice arena use with two rinks for open skating and amateur hockey play that can be used as an events center. Big League Dreams is also looking at the possibility of adding two more fields to possibly turn Manteca into a “Williamsport West” for major national youth baseball tournaments.

Connecting Daniels Street to McKinley will put in place a key link in an emerging west Manteca traffic circulation plan. The linchpin is construction of the McKinley Avenue interchange on the 120 Bypass. Construction of that project is expected to start within the next two years. It will not only help take pressure off the Airport Way corridor, allow more robust development of the FEZ, and serve the growing southwest Manteca area where more 4,000 housing units have been proposed, but it will also help move truck traffic from the rapidly developing jobs centers between the railroad and the Airport Way corridor.

Truck traffic would be directed onto an emerging spine road between the railroad and Airport Way. It will reach West Yosemite Avenue where trucks will head west and then turn onto McKinley Avenue.

The Manteca City Council when they meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. is expected to accept the extension work.

The city used part of the remaining redevelopment agency funds set aside for the South Area Regional Infrastructure Project to pay for the work. After the Daniels extension is paid for that will leave less than $5 million in the RDA account.

The extension work will include all utilizes, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, landscaping and traffic signals at Daniels Street and the main entrance to Great Wolf Lodge as well as signals at two other intersections with streets yet to be named.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com