Skip to main content

Fresno/Tulare County Route J40

By


Fresno/Tulare County Route J40 is 17.19 miles and was defined in 1974. County Route J40 begins at California State Route 99 near Selma. From California State Route 99 the routing of County Route J40 follows Mountain View Avenue, El Monte Way and Avenue 416 to California State Route 63 in Orosi.




Part 1; the history of County Route J40

Mountain View Avenue east of US Route 99 to Zediker Avenue is displayed as a minor roadway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Fresno County.


El Monte Way east of Road 40 to Orosi is shown as a major county highway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Tulare County.  El Monte Way west of Road 40 is shown without a bridge over the Kings River to Mountain View Avenue in Fresno County.


The March/April 1947 California Highways & Public Works announced a contract advertisement to construct new bridge over the Kings River between Kingsburg and Dinuba.  The new bridge over the Kings River was one of fifty-five projects selected for State and Federal Aid due to the economic benefit they would provide following World War II.   


The original bridge over the Kings River was completed during 1948 and connected El Monte Way to Mountain View Avenue.  The Kings River Bridge permitted Dinuba traffic with direct access to US Route 99 which at the time was located on Golden State Boulevard.  The original Kings River Bridge can be seen in a photo on the cover on the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Mountain View Avenue/Avenue 416/El Monte Way Wideningfrom Bethel Avenue in Fresno County to Road 92 in Tulare County, California (courtesy Kelly Hobbs). 


A contract to resurface El Monte Way east of Dinuba to Orosi was awarded during August 1950 via Federal Aid Secondary Program 1142 (seen in the November/December 1950 California Highways & Public Works).


Fresno/Tulare County Route J40 (J40) was defined in 1974 with a 17.19-mile length. J40 began at California State Route 99 between Selma and Kingsburg. From California State Route 99 the routing of J40 followed Mountain View Avenue and El Monte Way to California State Route 63 in Orosi. J40 can be seen illustrated below in a map by cahighways.org.


During the 1990s Tulare County began to deemphasize and remove County Sign Route shields.  The Tulare County Road System outside of incorporated cities was replaced with numbered avenues and roads which formed a county grid.  El Monte Way outside of Dinuba became Avenue 416.  The only known County Sign Route shields left in Tulare County as of the publishing of this blog are from County Route J37 along Balch Park Road (Mountain Road 239). 

During October 2008 the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Mountain View Avenue/Avenue 416/El Monte Way Wideningfrom Bethel Avenue in Fresno County to Road 92 in Tulare County, California was published.  As the report name implies the corridor of J40 from Bethel Avenue east over the Kings River to Road 92 was to be widened.  The project corridor included a new four lane Kings River Bridge which would replace the original 1948 span.  The new Kings River Bridge was completed during 2014.  The widening of Mountain View Avenue west of the Kings River Bridge to Golden State Boulevard (former US Route 99) was completed between 2016-2018.  At some point between 2018-2022 the Fresno County Department of Transportation placed a new J40 shield on eastbound Mountain View Avenue.  




Part 2; a drive on County Route J40

J40 eastbound begins in Fresno County from California State Route 99 Exit 115 to Mountain View Avenue.  Dinuba is signed as 12 miles away on eastbound J40 whereas Orosi is signed as 18 miles away.  




Eastbound J40 along Mountain View Avenue intersects former US Route 99 at Golden State Boulevard. 



As eastbound J40 passes Bethel Avenue a County Route J40 shield can be observed. 




Eastbound J40 enters Tulare County and transitions onto Avenue 416.  Eastbound J40 crosses the 2014 Kings River Bridge.






Eastbound J40 enters the city of Dinuba and transitions onto El Monte Way.  J40 intersects County Route J19 at Alta Avenue north of downtown Dinuba.  






Dinuba was plotted as "Sibleyville" during 1890 along the Stockton & Tulare Railroad operating line of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  Sibleyville was named in honor of James Sibley who donated 240 acres of land to the Southern Pacific Railroad.  Sibleyville in time came to be known as "Dinuba."  The source of the Dinuba name is unknown, but the community incorporated as a city on January 6, 1906.  During 1916 the Southern Pacific Railroad constructed a new depot at the southwest corner of Tulare Street and M Street.  The 1916 Southern Pacific Railroad Depot has since been moved to K Street where it became the headquarters of the Alta District Museum.




The original location of the 1916 Southern Pacific Railroad Depot can be seen just beyond the tracks in this eastbound photo of Tulare Street. 


J40 eastbound departing Dinuba transitions back onto Avenue 416 and passes through the community of Sultana.  Sultana was a siding along the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway line in eastern San Joaquin Valley.  






J40 eastbound follows Avenue 416 to a terminus at California State Route 63 in Orosi.  Orosi was founded in 1888 by Daniel Shafter and received Post Office Service in 1892.  





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Old US Route 60/70 through Hell (Chuckwall Valley Road and Ragsdale Road)

By
Back in 2016 I explored some of the derelict roadways of the Sonoran Desert of Riverside County which were part of US Route 60/70; Chuckwalla Valley Road and Ragsdale Road. US 60 and US 70 were not part of the original run of US Routes in California.  According to USends.com US 60 was extended into California by 1932.  US 60 doesn't appear on the California State Highway Map until the 1934 edition. USends.com on US 60 endpoints 1934 State Highway Map Conversely US 70 was extended into California by 1934, it first appears on the 1936 State Highway Map. USends.com on US 70 endpoints 1936 State Highway Map When US 60 and US 70 were extended into California they both utilized what was Legislative Route Number 64 from the Arizona State Line west to Coachella Valley.  LRN 64 was part of the 1919 Third State Highway Bond Act routes.  The original definition of LRN 64 routed between Mecca in Blythe and wasn't extended to the Arizona State Line until 1931 acc...
3 comments
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Paper Highways; Interstate H-4 through downtown Honolulu

By
The Hawaiian Island of O'ahu is home to four Interstate Highways; H-1, H-2, H-3 and H-201.  Had history gone slightly differently during the 1960s a fifth Interstate corridor on O'ahu could have been constructed through downtown Honolulu and the neighborhood of Waikiki.  The proposed corridor of Interstate H-4 can be seen above as it was presented by the Hawaii Department of Transportation during October 1968 .   This page is part of the Gribblenation O'ahu Highways page.  All Gribblenation and Roadwaywiz media related to the highway system of O'ahu can be found at the link below: https://www.gribblenation.org/p/gribblenation-oahu-highways-page.html The history of proposed Interstate H-4 The corridor of Interstate H-4 was conceived as largely following what is now Hawaii Route 92 on Nimitz Highway and Ala Moana Boulevard.   Prior to the Statehood the first signed highways within Hawaii Territory came into existence during World War II.    Dur...
Post a Comment
Read more