Interstate 205 East

Interstate 205 splits from Interstate 580 just west of Tracy and east of Altamont Pass. The left three lanes carry I-205 east toward Tracy, while the right lanes depart for I-580 southeast to I-5, Southern California, and Los Angeles.

06/21/09

Interstate 205 passes under the main lanes for Interstate 580 westbound traffic. This new bridge was constructed in 2008-2009 and allows mainline Interstate 580 westbound traffic to merge into the left side of the freeway and allows the original lanes to serve as a truck bypass route.

06/21/09

Shortly thereafter, Interstate 205 east passes under the original Interstate 580 lanes, which are now the truck bypass lanes for westbound traffic.

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Multiple power lines pass overhead as Interstate 205 proceeds east away from Interstate 580. The first set of overhead power lines is a towering 500kV double-circuit power line, which connects the Tracy substation and Path 66 500kV power line north of here with the Path 15 500kV power lines that follow Interstate 5 toward Southern California. Interstate 205 leaves Alameda County and enters San Joaquin County.

06/21/09

A small brush fire burned a hill adjacent to the 500kV power lines. Minor fires like this are common along freeways during the dry season (summer/early fall).

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Interstate 205 is the Robert T. Monagan Freeway, named for a California state assemblyman who represented this area from 1961 to 1973 and briefly as Speaker of the California State Assembly.

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The first exit along eastbound Interstate 205 is with Mountain House Parkway. Mountain House is a residential community north of the freeway. This exit also connects to old U.S. 50 and Altamont Pass Road in Alameda County to the west of here.

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Another power line crosses over Interstate 205; this view looks south from the freeway.

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The right two lanes connect eastbound Interstate 205 to Exit 2, Mountain House Parkway.

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Eastbound Interstate 205 reaches Exit 2, Mountain House Parkway.

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Interstate 205 passes under Mountain House Parkway. The overpass was improved, most likely due to the nearby Mountain House residential development and increased traffic volumes resulting from that development.

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An Interstate 205 east reassurance shield is posted after the Mountain House Parkway interchange.

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The succeeding exit along Interstate 205 east is with Business Loop I-205 (Eleventh Street) in one mile.

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The next four exits from Interstate 205 east serve the city of Tracy.

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An interchange sequence sign provides the distance to the next three exits along Interstate 205 east.

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Exit 4 serves Defense Depot Tracy.

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The right two lanes will connect to Business Loop I-205 (Eleventh Street) east to downtown Tracy. The left three lanes continue east along Interstate 205 toward Manteca and Stockton.

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Although not as well-signed as business loops in other states, Business Loop I-205 is fairly well-signed through the city of Tracy. It follows Historic U.S. 50 along 11th Street. This loop is also notable for being nearly as long as its parent route (only a couple miles shorter), and it is one of a few three-digit business loops nationwide. Technically, the business loop does not return to Interstate 205; both the parent and business route end within a mile of each other at I-5.

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Additional power lines travel over Interstate 205; these also emanate from the Path 15 power line corridor.

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Interstate 205 east at Exit 4 to Business Loop I-205 (Eleventh Street). The business loop commences along an expressway, which used to carry U.S. 50 west of Tracy and is still part of the historic Lincoln Highway.

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The next exit along Interstate 205 east is Exit 6, San Joaquin County J-4 (Grant Line Road) in one mile.

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Interstate 205 enters the city of Tracy ("Ready and Leading the Way"). The city had a population of 82,922 as of the 2010 Census and was incorporated on July 22, 1910.

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Eastbound Interstate 205 meets Exit 6, San Joaquin County J-4 (Grant Line Road). J-4 is a southeast-northwest route that follows the west bank of the San Joaquin River (parallel to SR 33) en route to Tracy. The county route continues northwest of here via Byron-Bethany Road to meet SR 4 in the Byron-Discovery Bay area. Since San Joaquin (and Alameda and Contra Costa) County Route J-4 approximates the future location of unconstructed SR 239, it may be upgraded to state standards at some point and added to the state highway system at that time.

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The next exit along Interstate 205 east is Exit 8, Tracy Boulevard.

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Interstate 205 proceeds east between Exit 6, Grant Line Road and Exit 8, Tracy Boulevard.

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Eastbound Interstate 205 reaches Exit 8, San Joaquin County J-13 (Tracy Boulevard). An urban arterial, Tracy Boulevard leads south into downtown Tracy, connecting with east-west Grant Line Road/San Joaquin County J-4 and Business Loop I-205 (Eleventh Street, which is Old U.S. 50 (Lincoln Highway). J-13 travels from Business Loop I-205 north along Tracy Boulevard to Interstate 205 and possibly north toward San Joaquin County J-2 and SR 4. The route shows in the Thomas Guide map, but it is not well-signed.

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The next Tracy exit along eastbound Interstate 205 is Exit 9, MacArthur Boulevard. Use this exit to connect to SR 33 south and Interstate 5 south via local streets. On weekends and weekday afternoon commute hours, eastbound Interstate 205 is frequently congested between here and Interstate 5. No section of eastbound Interstate 205 is immune to potential traffic congestion on a typical Friday afternoon.

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MacArthur Boulevard is the final interchange along Interstate 205 east before the junction with Interstate 5.

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Eastbound Interstate 205 reaches Exit 9, MacArthur Boulevard.

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After traffic merges onto Interstate 205 east after MacArthur Boulevard, the last reassurance shield appears; all traffic will transition onto Interstate 5 north to Stockton and Sacramento, with a connection to SR 99 via SR 120 east.

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Development lessens as Interstate 205 advances east past Tracy and toward Lathrop and Manteca.

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Interstate 205 passes over the Tom Paine Slough and a railroad

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This overhead guide sign on eastbound Interstate 205 indicates that first interchange after Interstate 205 merges onto Interstate 5 will be Exit 461, SR 120 east to Manteca, Oakdale, and Stockton.

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Reaching the transition from eastbound Interstate 205 to northbound Interstate 5, there are no signs indicating that Interstate 205 will automatically merge onto northbound Interstate 5 (and the exit lanes for eastbound SR 120). There is no direct access to southbound Interstate 5 from eastbound. It is assumed that everyone passing through here is traveling either north or east.

06/21/09

This view looks north along Interstate 5 as seen from the transition ramp that carries Interstate 205 east onto northbound Interstate 5.

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Power lines skirt the edge of the transition ramp ahead of the merge onto Interstate 5. An end Interstate 205 shield used to be posted here until the eastbound lanes of Interstate 205 were widened. At that time, the end shield was removed.

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The terminus of the long transition ramp from Interstate 205 east to Interstate 5 north is located within the city of Lathrop, which had a population of 18,023 and was incorporated on July 1, 1989.

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Traffic from Interstate 205 east prepares to split between Interstate 5 north or SR 120 east. Use SR 120 to continue east to SR 99 en route to Modesto, Lodi, and Fresno; the city of Oakdale; SR 108 east en route to Sonora; and Yosemite National Park.

06/21/09