Yesterday I left work here in Stockton and headed south on 99. I was heading down to Fresno but had to stop at my apartment in Ripon. Normally I’d just take 99 to Main St. and head into Ripon but there was an accident somewhere south of 120 so I got off and headed into Ripon on Austin Road. That’s when I got a rude awakening… just 5 blocks from the on-ramp to 99 I got stuck in a traffic jam… on Second St. in Ripon of all places (see photo above). It took me 25 minutes to travel 5 blocks. I could have walked to the on-ramp and gotten about a mile or two down 99 on foot quicker. Ripon isn’t equipped to handle that kind of traffic. At one point I thought of taking a detour to Main St or Third St but once I reached Stockton Ave. I realized that would have been a waste of time, or worse.

Right now, unless you shoot all the way to I-5 the only ways across the Stanislaus River are 99 and Santa Fe Road in Riverbank. That’s it. When will the powers that be get the bright idea to build a bridge from Austin Road east across the Stanislaus River and connect it to Bacon Road (which I’ve so cleverly illustrated below). It would alleviate a heck of a lot of traffic for locals in that area and also provide a third way across the river which will be invaluable when there is an accident on either side of 99.