Skip to main content

Tulare/Fresno County Route J19


County Route J19 is a 25.65-mile Letter County Highway located in Tulare County and Fresno County.  County Route J19 begins at California State Route 198 in Visalia and terminates at California State Route 63 at Orange Cove.  County Route J19 currently follows Plaza Drive, Road 80, Alta Avenue through Dinuba, Manning Avenue and Hill Valley Road.  Prior to 1965 Legislative Chapter 1372, County Route J19 terminates at California State Route 180 north of Orange Cove via Hills Valley Road.  Legislative Chapter 1372 deleted California State Route 226 and extended California State Route 63 to California State Route 180.




Part 1; the history of County Route J19

County Route J19 was commissioned during early 1960s as a shortcut to connect heading towards Kings Canyon National Park from US Route 99/California State Route 198 in Visalia to California State Route 180 northeast of Orange Cove.  From California State Route 198 near Visalia northbound County Route J19 began on Plaza Drive.  From the Visalia area County Route 19 followed Road 80 and Alta Avenue to Dinuba.   North of Dinuba, County Route J19 entered Fresno County on Alta Avenue and turned eastward on Manning Avenue.  County Route J19 turned north again Hill Valley Road towards Orange Cove where it intersected the northern terminus of Legislative Route Number 132 at Park Boulevard/Sumner Avenue.  County Route J19 continued north of Orange Cove following Hill Valley Road to a terminus at California State Route 180 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  

County Route J19 can be seen as originally configured on the 1966 Gousha Map of California.  

As part of the 1964 State Highway Renumbering what was Legislative Route Number 132 between Orosi and Orange Cove was renumbered as California State Route 226.  California State Route 226 was a short-lived designation as it was consolidated with California State Route 63 via 1965 Legislative Chapter 1372.  Legislative Chapter 1372 also annexed County Route J19 north of Park Boulevard/Sumner Avenue as part of California State Route 63.  

The extended definition of California State Route 63 first appears on the 1966 Division of Highways Map.  California State Route 63 is shown as a planned State Highway north of Orange Cove which indicated that existing County Route J19 north of Orange Cove was not yet up to state standards. 



Hill Valley Road north of Orange Cove is shown as part of California State Route 63 on the 1969 Division of Highways Map.  The extension of California State Route 63 truncated County Route J19 to Orange Cove.  


Beginning in the 1980s Tulare County began to deemphasize the Letter County Routes.  This culminated in all Letter County Route signage in Tulare County being removed by modern times with the lone exception being County Route J37 on Balch Park Road.  Within Fresno County signage of County Route J19 lingered on but as of the publication of this blog only two known signs remain. 



Part 2; a drive on County Route J19

County Route J19 northbound begins on Plaza Drive in Visalia of Tulare County at California State Route 198.  Dinuba is signed as being 15 miles north of California State Route 198.  






Northbound County Route J19 intersects County Route J32 at Goshen Avenue.  








Northbound County Route J19 departs Visalia on Road 80 as a four-lane expressway and intersects County Route J34 at Avenue 328.  




Northbound County Route J19 intersects County Route J36 at Avenue 368.  




Northbound County Route J19 intersects County Route J38 at Avenue 384.



Northbound County Route J19 intersects California State Route 201 at Avenue 400.



Northbound County Route J19 enters the city of Dinuba at on Alta Avenue and intersects County Route J40 at El Monte Way. 







County Route J19 northbound drops to two lanes departing Dinuba and follows Road 80 to the Fresno County line.  Upon emerging in Fresno County, County Route J19 follows Alta Avenue to Manning Avenue where it turns east.  The last two County Route J19 shields on northbound Alta Avenue can be found at Dinuba Avenue and Manning Avenue.  










County Route J19 follows Manning Avenue east to Hill Valley Road and turns north again. 




County Route J19 northbound follows Hill Valley Road where it terminates at California State Route 63 at Park Boulevard/Sumner Avenue near the eastern edge of Orange Cove.  




As noted in Part 1, County Route J19 originally followed what is now California State Route 63 north of Orange Cove to a terminus at California State Route 180.  The climb from Orange Cove to California State Route 180 is the Sierra Nevada Mountains is steep and swift. 


















Comments

Popular posts from this blog

North Carolina Continues to Move Forward with Rail

2023 and the first half of 2024 have seen continued growth in North Carolina's passenger rail system.  From increased daily trains from Raleigh to Charlotte, federal funds for studying additional corridors, and receiving a historic grant to begin the construction of high-speed rail between Raleigh and Richmond, the last 18 months have been a flurry of activity at NCDOT's Rail Division.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg. As ridership and routes increase - the engine of North Carolina passenger rail trains will become a more common sight. (Adam Prince) Increased Passenger Train Service: On July 10, 2023, a fourth Piedmont round-trip rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte commenced.  The four Piedmont trains plus the daily Carolinian (to Washington, DC, and New York) bring the total of trains serving the two cities daily to five. The current daily Piedmont and Carolinian schedule between Charlotte and Raleigh (NCDOT) The result was over 641,000 passengers utilized pa

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

The Midway Palm and Pine of US Route 99

Along modern day California State Route 99 south of Avenue 11 just outside the City limits of Madera one can find the Midway Palm and Pine in the center median of the freeway.  The Midway Palm and Pine denotes the halfway point between the Mexican Border and Oregon State Line on what was US Route 99.  The Midway Palm is intended to represent Southern California whereas the Midway Pine is intended to represent Northern California.  Pictured above the Midway Palm and Pine can be seen from the northbound lanes of the California State Route 99 Freeway.   This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The history of the Midway Palm and Pine The true timeframe for when the Midway Palm and Pine (originally a Deadora Cedar Tree) were planted is unknown.  In fact, the origin of the Midway Palm and Pine w