The intersection of N. Olive Avenue and Wayside Drive will soon have a traffic light, following Turlock City Council action last week to award a bid for the project that has been five years in the planning.

The City was awarded a Highway Safety Improvement Program grant to install a traffic signal at the intersection in 2013. Since then, the city has been working on the design and property acquisition for the project.

The total cost of the project is expected to be $1,141,000. On Sept. 11, the Council awarded a contract to George Reed, Inc. of Modesto in the amount of $697,295 for the construction of the project. The intersection work is being paid for through the Highway Safety grant and from the City’s Capital Facilities Fees transportation reserves.

The project will include signalization of the intersection, the addition of pedestrian access ramps at the four corners of the intersection, installation of roadway and safety lighting, pavement rehabilitation and roadway widening on N. Olive Avenue from Wayside to Starr Avenue.

Additionally, speed humps will be installed on Wayside Drive approaching Olive Avenue to mitigate any speed issues.

Construction is expected to start in early 2019 and take three to four months to complete.

Other road and transit projects:

·         The City installed the first of 20 solar-powered bus signs on Tuesday. The signs will be installed at bus stops that do not have a shelter and are poorly lit. The City expects to have all the signs installed by the end of the year;

·         Workers on the West Main Street rehabilitation project have encountered some “unknown underground utility issues,” according to Interim Development Services Director/City Engineer Nathan Bray. The issue has caused a slow down in the work. The majority of the curb ramps and sewer lines have been installed for Phase I of the project. Work on the West Main and Soderquist intersection, near Osborn Elementary School, is expected to begin by the end of September.