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THE $80M QUESTION
120 Bypass fix has two options: To keep or close Austin/99 ramps; community workshops planned
BYPASS 120 TRAFFIC1 1-27-17
Eastbound 120 Bypass traffic backs up as it nears the transition ramp to southbound Highway 99. - photo by HIME ROMERO/The Bulletin
The solution to reduce carnage on the 120 Bypass and ease congestion at the freeway’s interchange with Highway 99 will require a major revamp of the Austin Road interchange.There are two options. Either put in place elaborate ramps with the one for eastbound 120 Bypass traffic wanting to exit to Austin Road starting before the Bypass transition ramps to southbound Highway 99 or close all ramps to and from Austin Road.In either case the existing Austin Road overcrossing would be torn down and replaced with a new span that clears Highway 99, Moffat Boulevard and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. It would also mean Moffat in its existing alignment would no longer connect with Austin.Those were the two basic scenarios being advanced by Caltrans and the San Joaquin Council of Governments as the viable alternative to improve safety and traffic flow through the key Northern San Joaquin Valley interchange for commuting and movement of goods as well as to reduce the deaths and accidents on the Bypass that has become the deadliest stretch of freeway in the 209 region.Kevin Sheridan, the SJCOG project manager for the 99/120 effort, shared the alternatives with the Manteca City Council Tuesday night.