Things are looking up for Manteca but the city still has a long road ahead of it to get finances and funding in order so they can tackle major road projects.

*Caltrans has taken Manteca off its “do not fund” list after the city cleared up its audit snafu. Caltrans had placed the city on its “do not fund” list in October when Interim Finance Director Stephanie Beauchaine uncovered accounting irregularities that showed some $67 million had been placed in the wrong accounts over the years.

*The widening of North Main Street with pavers between Yosemite Avenue and Alameda Street to four lanes will go back out to bid with work starting this year. The project has been adjusted somewhat after it exceeded budget by $1 million.

*After sorting through funding status issued tied to accounting issues the city has funds to move ahead with rebuilding streets in the Mayors Park and Springtime Estates neighborhoods this fiscal year. Acting City Manager Lisa Blackmon said both projects will be before the council within the coming weeks to move forward.

*The city is moving forward with plans to update the growth fee for major roads charged to new development including residential, commercial, and industrial.

*The city is also working to finish identifying funding for the McKinkley Avenue/120 interchange project targeted to start in the next few years.

After that the big question in what order will the city tackle major road projects.

Municipal staff is currently working on a plan to make temporary repairs to the absolute worst parts of the Airport Way corridor between Wawona Street and Lathrop Road.

The tentative plan is to try and fund the work in the next fiscal year’s budget that covers July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. The work is expected to cost at least several million dollars.

Doing the entire segment from Woodward Avenue to Roth Road could easily top $20 million and be years away from happening. That is why the current council has indicated they favor doing work now that would make the roadway more tolerable in the interim.

Clearly the Austin Road upgrades need to be a priority. That includes the city paying for the additional two lanes the replacement bridge will have as well as contribute funding toward the ramps discussed in the above story.

From Councilman Gary Singh’s perspective, the city should increase and direct growth fees to pay for applicable work on projects in the following order:

*Austin Road overcrossing widening of Highway 99 and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks as well as the two replacement ramps.

*Funding the widening aspects of the Airport Way corridor that can legally be attributed to growth.

*Upgrading the Airport Way and Main Street interchanges along the 120 Bypass with diverging diamond interchanges such as the one that opened in November at Union Road. The interchanges cost less, reduce potential collision points, improve traffic flow when signals are in synch, take less time to build, and do not require the taking of more land.

Singh said based on how things stand now, he favors doing Airport Way ahead of Main Street.

“The new Austin Road work that is coming and the new Union Road (interchange) upgrades will help take pressure off Main Street as growth occurs,” Singh said.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com