Why it Seems Every Road in Merced is Under Construction

Why it Seems Every Road in Merced is Under Construction

There are days when I think Merced is the road construction capitol of California. I wonder if our mascot should be the orange "dunce cap" safety cone and whether our community slogan should be "Reduce Speed Ahead. "When singer/songwriter John Michael Talbot visited Merced in the spring of 2011, he had this observation about the number of road repair projects going on in the city: “I’m glad Merced has decided to fix the streets, but did they have to do them all at the same time. ”That comment brought laughs to his audience at St. Patricks’ Church, and at that time it seemed as though a lot of road construction was taking place.

Last year, we had the G Street underpass and the 18th Street downtown project underway along with a few others.If John Michael Talbot was to come back for another visit today, he’d probably have the same view. Why does it seem as though every road and bridge in Merced is being repaired, repaved, rerouted, or blocked off? The East Yosemite Avenue project near G Street just wrapped up, but we have projects on G Street near Bear Creek, overpass work on Highway 99 at both ends of the city, and the Parsons Avenue corridor near Ada Gibbons School in the city to name a few.

Federal stimulus dollars that spurred several construction projects last year have stopped flowing into the City. The projects going on in this construction season were likely in the repair pipeline for a number of years. Most of the work is paid for through state and federal dollars set aside for highway repair.I suspect that this year is like any other year in our City’s history. We expect a few roads will get needed overhauls on a programmed annual basis. Some motorists’ discomfort through the peak of the season is the relatively small price we pay for improving the community.

I extend my sympathies to the stores, restaurants, and professional offices that are inconvenienced due to the road work. It’s difficult enough to run a business in this economy. Anything that gets in the way of making it harder for the customer to get to the threshold of a local store is something most merchants worry about. When I see highway work underway, I think about the men and women working on the project.  My dad did highway work for a few years when I was growing up. It was a hot and hard occupation in the northeastern United States.

In the Central Valley, road construction in ninety degree plus summer days is really tough work.If you've ever been on the major state and federal highways during the summer months when overnight road work is underway, you'll see another group of people working the graveyard shift so that traffic can move smoothly during the day. So slow down, think about how much our community will be improved once the work is done, and be thankful a lot of people are bringing home respectable paychecks (and spending the money locally) as a result of these investments in our infrastructure.

We'll live with the little inconvenience construction creates in our lives.If I had a construction hard hat, I'd tip it in respect to all the folks who are putting our roads back together with sweat as well as asphalt.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced

The Week Merced County Made the Cover of Life Magazine

The Week Merced County Made the Cover of Life Magazine

For those of you under the age of twenty-five, there once was a time when Life magazine was a big deal.  Now limited to such things as occasional special books commemorating significant historical events, the magazine name has no real impact on society. 

January 28, 1957

But back in its heyday, it was a special achievement for a person, place, or event to be featured in the magazine.  It was truly outstanding when that story made the cover of the publication.

That’s the story behind the January 28, 1957 issue that featured a United States Air Force jet on the cover.  The story inside was about Operation Power Flite, the first-ever around-the-world flight of a jet without landing to refuel.  

Operation Power Flite, and I note the Air Force used a spelling of the word that the rest of us spell as “flight”, began at Castle Air Force Base in Atwater. 

The contingent of three aircraft took off from Castle on a cold January morning.  One plane developed mechanical troubles and had to land.   A second plant left the group, as planned, over Great Britain. 

The third made it around the world.  Thanks to aerial refueling, the jet could keep going for the forty-five hours it took to circle the planet.

CAM Entrance

Although the jets started from Castle, the mission didn’t end there.  Foggy conditions in Merced County led to the decision to land at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. 

Operation Power Flite

Behind the controls for the landing at March was Major General Archie Old.  March Air Force Base became a reserve military base in 1996.  The military golf course at that base is now a public golf course named for him.

Operation Power Flite was an important chapter in our nation’s military aviation history.  In 1957, in the middle of the Cold War, it was important for the United States to send the message that it could scramble a group of aircraft from any place in the world within minutes, and keep those planes flying for as long it would take.   It was the kind of deterrent many thought would keep the Soviets at bay.  

The mission was considered by military experts to be a significant development in aviation.

 Castle Air Museum

The role Castle Air Force Base played in the nation’s defense has been well documented by the Castle Air Museum.  The Museum created a small display area within its’ permanent collection area to commemorate Operation Power Flite. 

The staff and volunteers at the Museum are very helpful in assisting visitors as they learn more about the aircraft and the people who helped keep our nation safe during the years Castle Air Force Base was in operation.

CAM 3-planes

It’s easy to go to the Castle Air Museum and be overwhelmed by the outstanding collection of military aircraft.  But if you happen to go there in the near future, spend some time in the exhibit building and find the Operation Power Flite display. 

Ask a volunteer for more information about the mission.  Remember how important that flight from over fifty-five years ago was to our nation.  

The story of this history making flight during the Cold War put a Castle on the cover of Life magazine.  The Castle Air Museum as well as the Merced County Historical Society has a copy of that magazine. 

The story took up over a dozen pages in that week’s issue.  The pages are so large that it’s impossible to copy a single page on a regular eight-by-eleven or eight-by-fourteen inch copy machine. 

Magazines were much bigger back in the 1950’s; not only in the size of the pages, but also in the influence wielded in our society.  

Magazines back then were a big deal.  And Life magazine, especially the cover story on Life magazine, was a really big deal.

Steve Newvine  lives in Merced