Skip to main content

County Route J17 (Stanislaus County and Merced County)

By

County Route J17 is a 39.20 mile long Letter County Route serving Stanislaus County and Merced County.  The highway as presently configured begins at Interstate 5 along Sperry Avenue in Patterson.  East of Patterson the highway passes through Turlock and enters Merced County where it terminates via Turlock Road at California State Route 59 near Snelling.  County Route J17 was commissioned in 1960 following the completion of the Las Palmas Avenue Bridge over the San Joaquin River. 

The below maps of County Route J17 were prepared by the cahighways.org website.  




Part 1; the history of County Route J17

The impedes for the designation of County Route J17 was construction of the San Joaquin River Bridge east of Patterson on Las Palmas Avenue.  Said structure was built in 1959 as a replacement for an earlier span.  The 1959-era structure more directly linked Las Palmas Avenue to Main Avenue.  

The original San Joaquin River Bridge (blue pin) can be seen below on the 1941 United States Geological Survey map of Crestimba.  The earlier structure is located a short distance north of the 1959 span and the approach roadway is now Old Las Palmas Avenue.  


County Route J17 was added to the Letter County Route program in 1960.  As originally configured the highway began at the intersection of California State Route 33 and Las Palmas Avenue in Patterson of Stanislaus County.  From Patterson the highway travel east into Turlock via Main Avenue and Main Street.  In Turlock the highway followed Lander Avenue, Olive Avenue, Golden State Boulevard and East Avenue.  Departing Turlock, the highway was designated along East Avenue, Oakdale Road and Turlock Road to California State Route 59 near Snelling of Merced County.  

Following the completion of Interstate 5 in the Patterson area in the late 1960s County Route J17 would be extended west to meet it.  This extension was plotted west of California State Route 33 along Sperry Avenue to the Interstate.  As presently configured County Route J17 is 39.20 miles.  The highway can be seen below as mapped by the cahighways.org website.  




Part 2; a drive County Route J17

Eastbound County Route J17 begins in Patterson at Interstate 5 Exit 434 at Sperry Avenue. 


Eastbound County Route J17 follows Sperry Avenue to California State Route 33 in downtown Patterson.  The County Route multiplexes California State Route 33 a short distance northward before departing towards the San Joaquin River via Las Palmas Avenue. 


County Route J17 eastbound follows Main Avenue and Main Street into downtown Turlock where it intersects County Route J14 at Lander Avenue.  Both highways briefly multiplex on Lander Avenue and Olive Avenue to Golden State Boulevard (former US Route 99).  County Route J17 branches east on Golden State Boulevard and departs the city via East Avenue. 



County Route J17 follows East Avenue into Merced County and makes a right-hand turn on Oakdale Road.  


Eastbound County Route J17 briefly follows Oakdale Road to Turlock Road where it turns left. 




County Route J17 follows Turlock Road east to a terminus at California State Route 59 near Snelling.  Along Turlock Road the highway passes through the small community of Hopeton.  





















Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
5 comments
Read more