Skip to main content

Piedra Road (Fresno County)

By

Piedra Road is an 8.6-mile highway corridor which runs mostly along the Kings River in Fresno County.  The corridor as presently configured begins at Live Oak Avenue near California State Route 180 and terminates Trimmer Springs Road at the former quarry town of Piedra.  Piedra Road was developed in 1911 as a frontage facility of the Wahtoke District Branch of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway.  The railroad branch was withdrawn to Minkler in 1965 and Piedra Road would begin to become a major Fresno County highway connecting to numerous recreational locales. 




Part 1; the history of Piedra Road

Piedra Road was built as a frontage of the Wahtoke District Branch north of Kings Canyon Road (then Dunlap Road) to the quarry town of Piedra on the Kings River.  The line was constructed in 1911 by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway branching north of downtown Reedley.  The Wahtoke District line was approximately 22 miles in length and included numerous siding facilities such as Wahtoke, Wahtoke Winery, Minkler, Gravesboro, Avocado and Piedra.

Piedra Road can be seen north of Dunlap Road running along the Wahtoke District on the 1914 C.F. Weber map of Fresno County.  


Piedra would receive Postal Service as "Delpiedra" in 1920.  The original run of service would cease in 1943 but would later resume in 1949 simply as "Piedra."  Piedra in Spanish means "rock" or "stone."

The beginning of the Wahtoke District line can be seen branching north of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe mainline on the 1924 United States Geological Survey map of Reedley. 


The 1923 United States Geological Survey map displays siding facilities at Wahtoke, Wahtoke Winery and Minkler along the Wahtoke District north of Reedley.  A junction with the Porterville-Orosi Branch also of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway can be seen branching at Minkler.  Piedra Road can be seen beginning north of Dunlap Road near Minkler.  




Piedra Road can be seen following the Wahtoke District north to Trimmer Springs Road near the town site of Piedra at the Kings River on the 1920 United States Geological Survey map of Orangedale School. 



The Wahtoke District would be abandoned from Piedra south to Minkler in April 1965.  The remainder of the line south to Reedley would be abandoned in 1975 and 1979.  Piedra Road has been straightened in modern times and one of the primary highways used by traffic to reach the Pine Flat Reservoir from Fresno. 



Part 2; the history of Piedra Road

Piedra Road begins a short distance south of California State Route 180 (Kings Canyon Expressway) at Live Oak Avenue.  As eastbound California State Route 180 approaches Piedra Road traffic is advised that a left-hand turn permits access to Avocado Lake, Pine Flat Dam and Wonder Valley. 


Northbound Piedra Road crosses Bryd Slough and Kern-Friant Canal. 






Piedra Road continues north amid views of Red Mountain.  The highway passes the entrance to Avocado Lake Park.  Said park was formally created in 1957 at the site of what was Avocado siding. 







Piedra Road enters the community of Piedra and intersects Elwood Road.  Elwood Road provides access to Wonder Valley to the east in the Sierra Nevada foothills. 








Piedra Road passes through the site of the former Wahtoke District terminus siding which would have been located to the right of the northbound highway.  Winton Park can be found on along the Kings River west of the highway corridor.  Winton Park was formed in 1954 by the Fresno County Sportsmen Club and was later acquired by Fresno County in 1961. 



Piedra Road crosses the Kings River via bridge completed in 1953 and terminates at Trimmer Springs Road.  The original highway bridge was located a short distance to the east behind the Piedra Public Library.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

By
  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

By
The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...
2 comments
Read more

Abandoned Fowler Avenue in Clovis, California

By
Originally Fowler Avenue in the city of Clovis had a brief discontinuation approaching Herndon Avenue.  Fowler Avenue traffic heading northbound was required to detour briefly onto westbound Herndon Avenue.  During 2001 this discontinuation was removed when Fowler Avenue was reconfigured to access the Sierra Freeway (California State Route 168) via an interchange.  This led to a segment of the original alignment of Fowler Avenue just south of Herndon Avenue to be abandoned.  Despite a shopping center opening over part of the original Fowler Avenue alignment in 2016 much of the abandoned roadway remains.   The history of the abandoned original alignment of Fowler Avenue in Clovis The original alignment of California State Route 168 departed downtown Clovis eastbound along Tollhouse Road.  This original alignment did not interact with Fowler Avenue at the Herndon Avenue intersection.  Fowler Avenue north of Tollhouse Road ran north to Herndon Avenue...
Post a Comment
Read more