Manteca Councilman Richard Silverman believes people need to be willing to accept a “little short term pain” for “long term gain.”
He is referring to the timing staff is trying to work out so the major rehab on Yosemite Avenue between Main Street and Cottage Avenue as well as South Main Street from the 120 Bypass to Yosemite plus the bulb-out removal and reconfiguration in the 100 block of North Main doesn’t take place concurrently and can beat construction schedules dictated by weather. The idea is not to tear up both streets at the same time or overlapping each other and not to have roads torn up during the rainy season. If that happened, work would be delayed for months.
 The city has had the $3.3 million for the project on hand for several years including $2.4 million in federal funds.
Silverman wants to see all three projects — that includes the bulb-out block — done in 2017 plus start breaking ground on Atherton Drive and the McKinley Avenue/120 Bypass interchange.
He doubts the city will be able to move forward to construction on another targeted project — the upgraded Union Road/120 interchange — next year simply because the city hasn’t identified all of the funding. It was one of the eligible projects for redevelopment bonds sold prior to the state pulling the plug on RDAs. The lion’s share of that money has been poured into the ground and for other infrastructure in the city’s bid to make the water park resort hotel and family entertainment zone work.
That said he is concerned that schedule juggling could end up pushing either the Main Street or Yosemite projects into 2018.
And that may not be a good idea politically given the condition of roads in Manteca tends to come up in conversations about city needs as a close second to homeless problems.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com