Glenn Gebhardt first started sketching an at-grade crossing for the westerly section of Lathrop Road in 1994.
And on Monday, the Lathrop City Engineer finally got the chance to see the dream fulfilled at a ribbon cutting ceremony that officially marks the completion of creating a through route that will connect Interstate 5 and Highway 99 – providing another arterial route that will serve both residential and commercial traffic between California’s major transportation pipelines.
The roughly $20 million project, which has been under construction for roughly 18 months, was a collaboration between the City of Lathrop, the San Joaquin Council of Governments, the California Department of Transportation and the California Transportation Commission as well as other agencies – funded largely by the county’s Measure K transportation tax and Proposition 1B which was passed by voters in 2006 to improve vital transportation infrastructure projects throughout the state.
But the celebration will be relatively short-lived.
Within a month crews are expected to begin work on widening Lathrop Road from I-5 to the new westerly grade separation that passes over Union Pacific Railroad Tracks – extending the 4-lane section from the new bridge all the way to the freeway off ramps. The section that extends to the second at-grade crossing, near the back entrance to Sharpe Depot, will be completed later.
“I think that it’s a big deal not just for Lathrop, but for the region in general – Manteca just completed its interchange and this is the last piece,” Lathrop Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal said. “It’s something that we can be proud of and something that will transform Lathrop Road into a residential and commercial transportation corridor.”
Michael King – Lathrop’s senior civil engineer who helped take the project from a conceptual phase through the nearly two-year construction process – echoed Dhaliwal’s sentiments about this being a project that will impact the region and the county as a whole.
“It’s really the last big piece that gives a clear lane from Highway 99 to I-5 and that’s going to be a big impact for the county as a whole,” King said. “It’s an important piece.”
Lathrop’s City Manager Steve Salvatore, who thanked his entire staff for their work on the project and gave special thanks to project designer Vali Cooper and Associates and contractor Teichert Construction, said that Gebhardt first started sketching an at-grade crossing idea for the city more than two decades prior during his first stint with the City of Lathrop.
“We finally got it done,” Salvatore said with a laugh as he nodded to the City Engineer.
Traffic to the nearby Fireside Lounge can now access the bar by a side street, and the secondary basin across from Woodfield Park will be landscaped to mimic the basin that served as the temporary home for Monday’s event.
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
