Toll lanes may be coming in San Joaquin County and they could have a big impact on Bay Area commuters form Manteca, Ripon, and Lathrop.

It is one of the options being weighed as part of a project to widen Intestate 205 from six lanes to eight lanes from Instate 5 in Lathrop to Interstate 580 west of Tracy.

The project started as an endeavor to add a lane in each direction for high occupancy vehicles (HOV).

HOV lanes typically are restricted to vehicles that have two or more occupants during peak commute hours.

Managed lanes with tolls such as on a segment of Interstate 580 between Livermore and Pleasanton are an option being studied as part of the environmental impact report for the project.

Another option is making improvements in such a manner that it keeps the median available for commuter rail or dedicated to buses.

The project would result in 22 existing arterial crossings to be “closed” resulting in 11 joined bridges.

The cost of construction carries a $300 million estimate.

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday identified the I-205 project as the No. 2 Road project countywide.

There has already been $12.6 million secured for preliminary work another $26 million being sought for preliminary engineering.

The EIR for the project is expected to be completed in late 2026.

The goal for the San Joaquin Council of Governments — that is working with Caltrans on the endeavor — is to improve local, regional, and interregional circulation for all modes of travel between the Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.

The proposed project has the following primary purposes:

*Improve travel times

*Improve regional mobility and freight movement

*Increase use of carpooling, transit, ridesharing

*Accommodate and facilitate regional multi-modal transportation development

*Improve safety

*Improve air quality

The project addresses the following concerns:

*Increased commute times and delays on I-205

*Increased use of I-205 as an intercity and interstate truck or freight route

*Increasing need for alternative modes of transportation between San Joaquin County and the San Francisco Bay Area

Other top 10 road

projects in SJ County

The project is ranked No. 2 on the list of the county’s top 10 projects.

The list is used to guide county staff in the pursuit of Measure K, state, and federal transit and infrastructure funding.

Topping the list at No. 1 is a new four lane alignment of Grant Line Road south of Banta from the Eleventh Street roundabout to where it is currently six lanes in Tracy starting at a point east of Amazon’s five-story, 3.5 million square-foot distribution center.

It would also include paved shoulders for a bike route.

The $73.9 million project would take heavy truck and commuter traffic off the existing Grant Line Road alignment that passes through Banta.

The county already has identified $20.6 million for the project.

The No. 3 project would upgrade Eleventh Street from Interstate 5 to Tracy.

It would involve replacing traffic signals at three intersections with roundabouts such as the one on Eleventh Street where it intersects Grant Line and Kasson Roads.

Median improvements would also be made.

The work will cost $21 million of which $11.8 million in funding has been identified.

Other top priority roadwork includes:

*Widening Airport Way from Roth Road at the Manteca city limits to French Camp Road

*McHenry Avenue upgrades from the county line to Escalon.

*Mariposa Road upgrades from Jack Tone Road to Escalon-Bellota Road.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com