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THE WORST STREETS
Top 10 deteriorating streets built as county roads; Lathrop segment is Manteca’s worse
MCC cracks

The worst stretch of roadway in Manteca based on pavement deterioration?

It’s Lathrop Road from Airport Way to east of London Avenue.

The 150,575 square feet is riddled with potholes, crumbling pavement, and washboard asphalt. Based on a citywide analysis of pavement conditions it is the No.1 priority for replacement at a cost of $1.4 million.

Lathrop Road just over 30 years ago was strictly a county roadway with minimal truck traffic.

The leader when it comes to the most annoying road based on the number of drivers that use it day in and day out is Airport Way with 560,000 square feet of asphalt beyond repair that needs to be removed and reconstructed at a cost exceeding $5.2 million. The problem areas are in three separate segments. The worse segment between Lathrop Road to the railroad tracks will cost almost $2 million to replace in today’s dollars is No. 5 on the list of 10 roads that anything short of removing and reconstruction the pavement won’t do.

Airport Way, until two decades ago, was just a country road with no urbanized development on either side.

All of the 10 worst segments of streets in Manteca share a common bond. They were never built for heavy city traffic. All were basically country roads 20 to 30 years ago. The segments of those road that are in good shape were all rebuilt to city standards by developers

Altogether the top 10 worst streets in Manteca will cost $17.8 million to replace. They represent almost half of the $40.1 million tab for the streets identified in Manteca as being in the worst condition needing either 2-inch overlays with dig-outs, full depth reclamation, or — for the most severe streets — removal of asphalt and reconstruction.

The Manteca City Council will receive a presentation on the condition of street pavement when they meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St.

The council asked for the more detailed assessment after becoming frustrated with what they felt was an ineffective city game plan when it came to maintaining streets.

Mayor Ben Cantu, as an example, couldn’t understand why the city was planning to spend $820,000 to apply preventative slurry on 18 lane miles of Del Webb at Woodbridge neighborhood streets that are just over a decade old when there were other neighborhood streets that were in significantly worse condition.

The current street maintenance program that has been in place for at least 12 years is predicated on applying limited dollars to making sure newer streets don’t deteriorate to the point they need expensive 2-inch overlays or even more expensive complete reconstruction.

Cantu noted at previous meetings that he understood the city’s strategy. The problem, from his perspective, is the city never seems to get around to tackling most of the more serious — and more costly — street pavement problems.

                                                

Manteca only has $2M

a year for street work

 

The city is hamstrung by money. Between gas tax and Measure K sales tax receipts the city has around $2 million to spend on street maintenance on an annual basis. Almost all of that has been poured into neighborhood streets. There are state and federal grants available from time-to-time that Manteca can apply for work on major streets that meet specific conditions. Such grants are how the bulk of the $4.9 million to do the recently completed Main Street work and the Yosemite Avenue work now underway was obtained. The problem is the grants are not a sure thing plus thousands of cities are competing for the money.

 If the Manteca council were to take all of the money it receives every year for road work and apply to the 30 worst sections of streets in Manteca they will be told about on Tuesday evening, it would siphon all such funds and then more for the next 20 plus years providing there is absolutely no inflation. The $40.1 million estimate for the work on those 30 sections of streets does not include the cost of right-of-way for widening, relocation of utilities, of off-site development improvements such as related storm system costs that can easily add millions of dollars.

There are only four basic ways the city can generate more money for streets beyond trying their luck at securing grant competitions that is almost like relying on winning the lottery.

They are:
*Cannibalizing other parts of the general fund budget that goes to police and fire, parks and recreation, or general government.

*Pursue a communitywide Mello-Roos district as Cantu has suggested.

*Raising the local sales tax or imposing a parcel tax.

*Requiring all new developments to have a community facilities district that lumps street maintenance including overlays and such in specific neighborhoods with park upkeep, landscape maintenance, and paying for street light energy use as well as their upkeep.

The last option wouldn’t raise money directly for existing streets. What it would do is make sure new neighborhoods would generate enough money through annual parcel fees to cover all — or most — of the cost of pavement maintenance as developments age. That would free up the money the city receives to take care of existing streets.

 

The most pressing

need for street work

The top 10 streets for removal and reconstruction costing $17.8 million plus in descending order are as follows:

*1. Lathrop from Airport Way to east of London Avenue

*2. Main Street from south of Atherton Drive to north of Woodward Avenue

*3. Yosemite Avenue from the city limits at the railroad tracks to east of Airport Way.

*4. Woodward Avenue from Atherton Drive to the railroads tracks.

*5. Airport Way from Lathrop Road to the railroad tracks

*6. Airport Way from Louise Avenue to Yosemite Avenue

*7. Austin Road from Yosemite Avenue to north of Highway 99

*8. Woodward Avenue from South Main Street to Van Ryn Avenue

*9. Austin Road from north of Sandra Street to south of Jeane Road

*10.Airport Way from Atherton Drive to south of the 120 Bypass

The top 13 streets that require full depth reclamation costing $21.5 million plus in descending order are:

*1. Springtime Estates streets

*2. Mayors Park streets

*3 Shasta Park streets

*4. Industrial Park Drive streets

*5. Franciscan Village streets

*6. Union West streets

*7. Cedar Glen streets

*8. New Horizons streets

*9. Greenview Estates streets

*10.  Spring Meadows streets

*11. Magna Terra Estates streets

*12. Hildebrand Addition streets

*13. Sherwood Forest streets

The top 7 streets that require 2 inch overlays with dig outs costing $1.3 million plus in descending order are:

*1. Swanson Road from Yosemite Avenue to the end of the street

*2. Zinfandel Lane from Chenin Blanc Drive to the end of the street

*3. Northgate Drive from Airport Way to Bolton Lane

*4. Norman Drive from Hutchings Street to Dyer Avenue

*5. Trinity Street end to end

*6. Tidewater Bike Path from Lathrop Road to Industrial Park Drive

*7. Mission Ridge Drive from Grouse Way to Partridge Lane

 

The city’s street work

priority list for

the next six years

The staff also prepared a priority list of projects for the next six years.

They are anticipated to be able to be funded with existing revenue sources. The overall cost of $17.1 million includes $11.5 million worth of work on neighborhood streets to make sure they don’t deteriorate further. That means of the $41.5 million needed to address the worst streets in Manteca, the six year outlook for priority projects included only $5.6 million worth of work. That leaves a $35.5 million funding shortfall in today’s dollars.

The six year outlook for street work priorities is as follows:

For 2020 that includes Springtime Estates and Mayors Park neighborhood streets as well as Main Street from south of Atherton Drive to north of Woodward Avenue.

The 2020-21 priority projects are Shasta Park streets, Swanson Road, and the Tidewater Bike Path.

The 2021-22 priority projects are Magna Terra Estates and Hildebrand Addition streets plus Lathrop Road from Airport Way to east of London Avenue.

The 2022-23 priority projects are Zinfandel Lane from Chenin Blanc to end, Northgate Drive from Airport Way to Bolton Lane, Norman Drive from Hutchings Street to Dyer Avenue, Trinity Street, Mission Ridge Drive from Grouse Way to Partridge Lane, and Sherwood Forests Streets.

The 2023-24 priority project is the Union West neighborhood streets.

The 2025-26 priority project is the Spring Meadows streets.

 

 

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com