GUSTINE – Lower-than-expected costs on a street improvement project are allowing the city to stretch its transportation dollars far enough to also cover a sidewalk project.

City Manager Margaret Silveira said the council awarded a $176,000 contract for street repairs and maintenance last week, with the cost coming in about $45,000 below cost estimates.

That savings, coupled with other transportation funds the city had set aside, means money is available to repair cracked and lifted sidewalks in the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods.

“I am very excited that we will be able to include the sidewalk project,” Silveira commented. “I didn’t think that we were going to have enough money to do both.”

The street project includes the repaving of Olson, Edith and Sherwood. A slurry seal will be applied to Linden Avenue from Meredith to Sullivan, and streets in the Southport subdivision will get a fog seal to prevent deterioration and extend the life of those roadways.

“We are trying to be pro-active in that regard,” Silveira explained. “It saves us so much money if we can add to the life of those streets that are still in good condition.”

She anticipates the city will have about $100,000 for sidewalk repairs.

Sidewalk conditions have long been a concern in the older areas of Gustine.

“We just have too many problems with our sidewalks. We need to get them repaired,” Silveira stated.

Repairs to sidewalks in the downtown commercial area will be the highest priority.

“We will repair those sidewalks, but we don’t want to totally replace them at this time,” she remarked. “We have some downtown infrastructure that we need to get done before we put in new sidewalks.”

Once the downtown repairs are made, the city will work on sidewalks in surrounding neighborhoods.

“We’ll start working our way out from the downtown area,” she explained. “Some of those sidewalks may be replaced, but because we are trying to spread the money as far as we can it will not be a total replacement project. We don’t have a lot of money for a sidewalk project, but it will get us some decent repairs.”

The city must still seek bids on the sidewalk project.

The street improvement project will be under way in short order.

“We don’t want to run into a weather change like we did last year,” the city manager commented. “We are going to start the streets right away, before the weather gets any cooler.”