Manteca’s first raised median with wrought iron fencing to prevent pedestrians from crossing midblock is being installed on North Main Street.
It is part of a $3.4 million project that started this week and will take until August to complete.
The work is scheduled between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Main Street will remain open but there will be periodic lane closures.
The work is being conducted between Alameda Street and Northgate Drive.
It is where the most elaborate project ever undertaken on a Manteca surface street to specifically address traffic safety will take place.
The project first and foremost addressees pedestrian safety. But its design elements also are aimed at making it safer for bicyclists as well as striping that tends to rein in speeding.
The data backs up the need to make a concerted effort to address traffic safety.
The North Main Street project includes:
*A raised median with fencing to prevent pedestrians from crossing between intersections.
*Installing new American with Disabilities Act raps for better safety.
*The installation of a high Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK) Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon signal system at the Main Street intersection with Edison Street.
*The striping of high-profile bicycle lanes to enhance bicycling safety.
*Pavement rehabilitation to improve the quality of the driving surace.
The median also will eliminate the ability to turn left across traffic between intersections from — or to — commercial driveways. Such turn movements have been a contributing factor in accidents between vehicles along that stretch of Main Street over the years.
The raised median, along with the bike lanes, are expected to help slow traffic speeds.
It will be the first median in Manteca with fencing aimed at preventing pedestrians from crossing a street between intersections.
And while they are not part of the road work, red light traffic cameras are now in the process of being installed on the North Main Street segment’s intersections with Louise Avenue and Northgate Drive.
As it stands now, the North Main Street segment is the longest and widest stretch of a four-lane arterial with turn lanes in Manteca.
It was originally built to carry four lanes of Highway 99 before the old state route reached downtown and then headed southeast on Moffat Boulevard to Ripon and beyond.
The width over the years has encouraged people to exceed the speed limit significantly after passing through downtown and the Alameda Street intersection.
There have been a number of serious traffic accidents north of Alameda Street including two solo crashes that ended up being fatalities in recent years.
The intersection at Edison has had multiple collisions between pedestrians who were near the middle of the crosswalk when struck.
Injuries have been significant over the years, including times when the pedestrian was struck hard enough they ended up slamming into the vehicle’s windshield.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
