Take a drive down Lathrop Road at mid-afternoon and you’ll get a precursor of what is to come on a roadway that is emerging as a key player in the movement of goods while serving existing and emerging neighborhoods.Here’s a snippet of such a trip taken Thursday from the new interchange at Highway 99 to Interstate 5 nearly five miles away:uEight semi-trucks were counted. Residents along the corridor say the count kicks up weekdays as some haulers have discovered it is a way to avoid the stop and go in the afternoon on the eastbound 120 Bypass.uThere are over 50 residential properties in both Manteca and Lathrop that will need to have significant parts of their front yards chopped off to widen Lathrop Road to four lanes. Doing so will bring traffic closer to their front doors.uThe pavement between Union Road and Airport Way is some of the worst in Manteca as it is riddled with potholes, patchworks of cracks, and wavy asphalt.uOne truck — which appeared not to be legal under state truck route laws — made a right turn onto Harlan Road from westbound Lathrop Road with its rear right tire going up and over the curb.uThere are a number of high school students — mostly from Lathrop High but also a fair amount from East Union High — that walk along or cross Lathrop Road.uSurprisingly, the traffic stayed below the posted 45 mph speed limit except on the stretch encompassing the two railroad bridge crossings where most drivers picked up the pace.