Manteca needs to get the ball rolling on upgrading the Airport Way and Main Street interchanges on the 120 Bypass.
And to do so, they need to conduct project studies costing $250,000 apiece to start a process that — if everything went without a hitch and all funding for work needed was found — will take a minimum of five to seven years to get to the point dirt could be turned.
And that is an extremely optimistic timeline given the long list of pressing public works needs and priorities the city is facing of which the biggest challenge is how to pay for them.
The interchange upgrades were part of a needs and priority list the municipal engineering division presented to the City Council during a recent goal setting workshop for the fiscal year starting July 1.
The city is pursing diverging diamond interchanges for both Airport Way and Main Street similar to California’s first such interchange that was completed at Union Road two years ago.
There are a number of reasons why the city is opting to go with the diverging diamonds that, if built, would be the only place in the United States with three successive diverging diamond interchanges within a three-mile stretch.
The construction cost is lower, the build time is shorter, and the design allows for better traffic flow and reduces the potential for collisions.
The cost savings comes from being able to incorporate the existing bridge structure into the design and eliminating the need to rip out existing development through the costly and time-consuming eminent domain process in order to build ramp configurations needed to meet modern-day freeway standards.
The state’s second diverging diamond interchange is moving forward for the Hatch Road and Highway 99 interchange in Ceres while the third is planned in Tracy for the existing Interstate 580 and International Parkway interchange.
Among the other engineering needs and priorities are:
*The $62,000 Main Street traffic signal synchronization project through downtown.
*Building the $34 million McKinley/120 Bypass interchange.
*Completing a $20 million north Manteca trunk sewer line as well as a reclaimed water line from the wastewater treatment plant to the municipal golf course.
*Design a city-wide cast-in-place pipe “sewer pipe liner” project to prolong the life of existing sewer lines to avoid costlier failures and replacement expenditures.
*Updating the pavement condition index map to identify where limited funds would be best spent for new pavement projects of existing streets.
*Planning work for extending Milo Candini Drive that currently ends at the northern edge of the Big League Dreams sports complex north to Yosemite Avenue.
*Completing the $1 million water master plan and water rate study.
*Completing the $1.2 million wastewater plan and sewer rate study as well as updating the reclaimed water master plan.
*Completing the first phase of the Airport Way improvement and rehab project.
*Update growth fees charged for sewer, storm collection, water, major streets, and other facilities.
*Implement a citywide traffic synchronization project with a $2.4 million federal grant.
*Replacing traffic signs with improved reflective capabilities using a $2.2 million federal grant.
*Work on the Main Street and Yosemite Avenue improvement design and construction.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
