The Austin Road bridge will come tumbling down in the coming months.

And when it does, for all practical purposes, the last major remnant of the original Highway 99 freeway between Lodi and Merced constructed in the mid-1950s will disappear.

The two exceptions still standing will be the narrow Cottage Avenue and Louise Avenue overpasses in Manteca.

Both were built in 1955.

The two relics, as freeway bridges go in California, will be around for a long time.

There is no way the city will be in a position to replace or even widen the Louise Avenue bridge even with the limited 20-year three-quarter sales tax that expires in 2045.

As such, they are likely to be standing examples of century-old bridges when 2055 rolls around and 90 percent plus of the cars on the road will be electric — or even hydrogen — powered.

Who knows; maybe even the high speed rail project between Los Angeles and San Francisco will be completed by then, hopefully  without LA having been burned to the ground or SF being reduced to rubble from the “Big One”.

Austin Road interchange 2.0 is a critical piece of the puzzle to unclog the 120/Bypass transition snafus with Highway 99 to the south.

The replacement overpass for Austin Road will allow additional lanes on Highway 99 to go beneath it.

That is critical to allow what will hopefully be seamless transitions by doubling the lanes that carry traffic in both directions between the 120 Bypass and Highway 99 from the south.

The work is part of the first phase that is now under construction of the 99-120 Bypass connector project being overseen by the San Joaquin Council of Governments, and the second phase the agency is working on securing funding to build.

Restoring the on and off ramps on the north side of Austin Road that will “temporarily” be closed this year is in the planned third phase that is likely 10 years out if that soon.

Given the need to merge traffic safely at a reasonable speed and the proximity to the 99-120 Bypass, the replacement ramps will require extensive and expensive braided ramps with a significant amount of bridge structures.

It will require the planting to start of Manteca’s prominent crop on 1,080 acres of farmland in the extreme southeast portion of the city.

The crop?

Houses.

Ultimately, 4,198 housing units.

The maximum mixture of housing types on zoning attached to the land based on current dwelling type yields would generate a population of around 10,200 people.

That’s almost a third of the size of Ripon’s current population.

Ripon is an appropriate measuring stick given the Austin Road housing will be mostly built within Ripon Unified boundaries.

Based on the environmental document for the project, upwards of 2,000 students will eventually be attending Ripon schools from the Manteca project.

That is one of two reasons why the removal and replacement of the Austin Road interchange is a major milestone for the region beyond improving traffic flow and safety.

The other is the growth for Manteca represented by those 4,198 homes and accompanying business park and commercial zoning.

Drive down Austin Road about a half mile past Sedan Avenue.

The open farmland and orchards, you see, will be gone.

Not next year, not five years from.

But with what is being set in motion this year, it will disappear.

Manteca has made a $6 million plus investment in the Austin Road replacement bridge to substantially improve the odds it does.

The California Transportation Commission is not in the business of funding growth-inducing freeway projects.

Freely translated, state money for a new interchange where there is not one or oversizing an overpass needed to accommodate growth within a city is extremely difficult or impossible to secure.

That means the city will need to come up with the funding.

There will be those out there that might question why the city bankrolled the oversizing of the bridge replacement in advance.

The reason is what might be called a damned if you do, and damned if you don’t moment.

City leaders back in 2013 — just as they are today — are slammed for not building major roadways with enough lanes from the start so there is capacity ahead of growth.

The reason is as old as the republic. It costs money.

And usually there are lot of other pressing needs that also cost money vying for limited dollars.

It is also clearly less costly and less disruptive to build the maximum size overpass eventually needed in 2025 than 2035 or 2045.

The private sector invested hundreds of thousands of dollars creating the framework and checklist of infrastructure that must be extended and paid for by development in order for it to occur.

The city also bought into the development vision for southeast Manteca by putting their stamp of approval on it and incorporating it into the general plan that serves as the blueprint to guide city growth.

Part of the dammed if you do damned if you don’t scenario is the expectations of existing residents.

It goes without saying the majority of people in Manteca want the 120 Bypass/99 mess improved.

But at the same time many aren’t too thrilled the ramps on the north side will be taken out.

No are they likely thrilled by the growth potential.

They also probably don’t want to be taxed to pick up the $62 million or so cost for the third phase.

The only way that can happen is if the city can come up with the money from elsewhere.

The best way to secure most or all of it is in a special assessment on the development that occurs within the Austin Road Business Park and any other nearby future projects that will benefit from having a 100 percent functional interchange in place.

The bottom line is when the shiny new Austin Road overpass is completed, it will open the gate for growth in southeast Manteca, east Manteca, and send more kids to Ripon schools.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com