Stanislaus County is one of the fastest-growing regions in California and the nation. The region has seen a very large influx of population in the last 30 years and this trend is expected to continue over the next 30 years. Local and regional traffic conditions are increasingly congested and without substantial transportation improvements, the problem will only get worse.
Stanislaus County has pursued a strategy of planning for and implementing regional expressway facilities for the last 20 years.
Stanislaus Council of Governments (StanCOG), in conjunction with the 10 local agencies within the region, developed the region's first Regional Expressway Study (RES) in 1990. It was determined then, based on growth projections and the travel demand model program, that the planned local improvements will not provide sufficient capacity to offset expected growth and congestion standards. The region saw the need for a regional system of roadways that could efficiently move traffic throughout the region; 26 expressways were identified. The 2010 RES is an update to the 1990 study to account for completed projects, changes to population projects, and thus the need for identified roadways, and updates to the local agency's general plans, policies, and goals.