Austin Road south of Yosemite Avenue and north of Grave Road will be closed to through traffic starting Wednesday, July 23.

It is targeted to reopen Dec. 17.

The road will only be closed to through traffic. Local traffic and emergency vehicles will be allowed access.

The closure will allow the developer to install underground utilities connected with the  797-home Yosemite Square project a well as make improvements to Austin Road,.

The final map for the first unit of the Yosemite Square project along Austin Road occurred last month.

That means Lennar Homes, the developer of what will become the largest neighborhood ever built in Manteca east of Highway 99, can proceed with $34.7 million of improvements needed to create lots to build the first 311 homes.

Among the Yosemite Square highlights:

*The developers donated 5 acres needed for the third phase of the Highway 99/120 Bypass and as such could slice the overall cost of that project by $3 million or so.

*A new gravity flow segment of the Woodward Avenue sewer main on the west side of Highway 99 will be paid for by developers to eliminate for costly forced pumping not just of wastewater Yosemite Square will generate but from existing homes as well.

*Over $11 million in off-site work will be done including improvements on the western part of Austin Road north to Yosemite Avenue as well as upgrades to the Yosemite Avenue/East Highway 120 interchange.

*The 137 acres project will generate over 7,000 vehicle trips a day at  buildout.

*The removal of the ramps at the nearby Austin Road/Highway 99 interchange will mean virtually all traffic from the new neighborhood will need to use Yosemite Avenue and will have a major negative impact on traffic along that corridor.

*The ramps, according to Caltrans’ current timetable, may not be replaced for another 20 years — a decade after the Yosemite Square development is projected to be completed.

 *The project — which will be the largest concertation in terms of density of a tract development of detached homes with lots ranging from 3,290 to 5,250 square feet — has the potential to generate 2,000 residents in an area that is not close to developed portions of the city.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com