Head down Austin Road any workday afternoon between East Highway 120 and Highway 99.

You can catch a glimpse of what the future holds for the two-mile stretch of country road.

There’s a 797-home neighborhood coming as evidenced by gigantic earth movers, backhoes, and bare dirt on 137 acres where a year ago almond orchards and vineyards once stood.

There’s also a sign giving notice Cornerstone Church — which has submitted plans to the city — is planning to build a new home.

But that isn’t the big story.

It’s traffic.

Austin Road has become well-established as a bypass around the northbound congestion on Highway 99 and the Yosemite Avenue/East Highway 120 interchange.

From mid-afternoon to the edge of evening, there is a steady flow of commuters doing what frustrated commuters do best — finding alternative routes to avoid congestion.

Now envision what you see today with another 7,741 vehicle trips a day when the last of the 797 homes is built and occupied.

The loss of the Austin Road overcrossing of Highway 99 for a year or so when it is torn down and replaced with a configuration similar to the Lathrop Road overcrossing won’t likely be a major concern.

That’s because few, if any, of the homes will be occupied until after the new bridge is in place.

The real problem will be increased region growth and the additional commuters that generates as those trying to get home search out the paths of least resistance.

Couple that with what will happen when 797 new households rely on Austin — the only way in and out of the neighborhood being built — and afternoon traffic will be significantly heavier than it is now.

The loss of the northbound onramp and southbound offramp for at least 10 years until funding is secured for the third phase of the 120/99 connector overhaul won’t be an issue.

That’s because the vast majority of shortcut traffic on the two-mile segment of Austin Road comes from northbound Highway 99 and westbound Highway 120 (East Yosemite Avenue).

The city has required the developer to pay for tweaking the traffic signals at Austin and Yosemite to accommodate trips for future residents who will occupy the homes they are building.

But other than that, there is not much the city can do to address what issues increased traffic will create, specifically for two dozen or so households along the stretch of Austin Road trying to enter or exit their driveways.

Given it is an arterial traffic calming devices such as speed lumps are out of the question.

There are no plans in the near future for traffic signals — except on the northside of the Austin/99 interchange — or roundabouts.

In short, Austin Road will go through a transformation in the coming years that will intermix “rural” homes on small parcels with development as it occurs.

That said, given the congestion around Calla High on the southeast corner of Yosemite and Austin before and after school,  that area is likely to become a significant traffic flow and safety problem as the vehicle count climbs.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com