STOCKTON, Calif.—San Joaquin Valley leaders say they want a wider, safer state Highway 99 to be attractive too.

The goal is to convert the highway that runs from Bakersfield to Sacramento from a “back alley” into a “Main Street,” Alan McCuen, deputy district director of planning for the California Department of Transportation, said Wednesday.

The San Joaquin Council of Governments will appoint a committee of community members to brainstorm about how to aesthetically improve Highway 99, said Susan Filios, council spokeswoman. They’ll consider new or renovated rest areas, landscaping and public art along the route.

A governor-appointed committee announced at the end of last year that adding lanes and upgrading the overpasses of Highway 99 would cost about $6 billion.