Lathrop Road serves as a connection between Highway 99 and I-5 and provides a route for tractor-trailers accessing the new commercial developments off of Airport Way in Manteca.

And next week, the Lathrop City Council is expected to take a closer look at Lathrop Road and the role that trucks play in making up the traffic that collects on the arterial.

The Lathrop City Council is scheduled to meet on Monday, Aug. 9, at 7 p.m. inside of the council chambers at Lathrop City Hall – located at 390 Towne Centre Drive. A copy of the agenda for the meeting can be obtained by visiting www.ci.lathrop.ca.us.

According to the staff report prepared for the meeting, the council requested additional information on the current truck route operating between Harlan Road and McKinley Avenue – an issue that has been a major point of contention of some homeowners along that route.

In order to prepare for more traffic from development in the area, the City of Lathrop expanded Lathrop Road to two lanes in each direction from McKinley Avenue to Harlan Road – a project that required the purchase of property in order to have enough room for the lane expansion.

And the options on the table could drastically change the route depending on which way the council chooses to go.

The options include commissioning a study to get a more realistic picture of the roles that trucks play on Lathrop Road, allowing only California-legal trucks to use the route, or cutting off all trucks on Lathrop Road altogether – instead sending traffic onto McKinley Avenue to Louise Avenue and back to I-5 without ever using Lathrop Road.

According to Lathrop, roughly 15,000 vehicles per day travel through the corridor between Harlan Road and McKinley Avenue. Approximately 105 of those vehicles are heavy trucks.

Lathrop Road has long been planned to be a four-lane arterial street – listed as such in the original Lathrop General Plan, Manteca’s general plan, San Joaquin County’s general plan, and the San Joaquin Council of Government’s Regional Transportation Plan.

Because Lathrop Road traverses both Lathrop and Manteca, both cities are currently in talks with SJCOG to figure out the best way to approach the truck traffic issue – especially as it pertains to the new development along the Airport Way corridor. Discussions about truck routes in that area and how best to serve the increased traffic have been ongoing between the two communities.

The Lathrop City Council meets on the second Monday of every month at Lathrop City Hall – located at 390 Towne Centre Drive – at 7 p.m. To view the staff report for the item or other items on the agenda, visit the City of Lathrop’s website at www.ci.lathrop.ca.us.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.