Skip to main content

California State Route 137; the 90 degree turn highway

By
After completing Yokohl Valley Drive I decided to take something a little different back to the Fresno Area and made my northwest to CA 137.






CA 137 is 30 mile state highway running from CA 65 west/southwest to CA 43.  CA 137 is odd in that it doesn't really have a clear directional path and has numerous sudden 90 degree shifts.  CA 137 was designated in 1964 during the California Highway renumbering out of LRN 134 and a small part of SSR 63 in Tulare.  Prior to CA 137 being designated Signed State Route it ran west from the current southern terminus to US 99 which is now desingated as CA 99.   LRN 134 appears to have had an original terminus a quarter mile approximately west of the modern one at Pickerell Avenue in Corcoran before LRN 135 was realigned in 1953.

I took CA 137 westbound from the junction with CA 65 near Lindsay in Tulare County.







Not everyday you see a helicopter dropping down towards the roadway, especially close to power lines.





CA 137 along Tulare Avenue junctions both the southern terminus of CA 63 and crosses CA 99 in the city of Tulare.






CA 137 takes a southward jog on M Street towards downtown Tulare.





CA 137 takes a westward turn on Inyo Avenue.  There was a Tulare PD officer on a motorcycle up ahead setting up a trap for people California Stopping, the guy that was ahead of me ended up pulled over on Inyo Avenue.





CA 137 exits Tulare westbound on Inyo Avenue.





West of Tulare CA 137 turns south on Road 36.





The next big turn is on Avenue 199 westward.





With another sudden shift southbound on Curti Road.  It seems that CA 137 is lined up around 90 degree turns around farm parcels.  Many of the rural Central Valley rural state highways have similar features.





CA 137 makes a soft southwest turn on Waukena Avenue and a south turn on 4th Avenue at the Kings County line.





CA 137 makes one more westward turn on Orange Avenue.





CA 137 terminates at CA 43 in Corcoran.  The junction pictured here was replaced by a new roundabout later in 2017 after I clinched the highway.





The references I cited above can be found here:

CAhighways.org on CA 137/LRN 134:

1963 State Highway Map

1964 State Highway Map

1952 State Highway Map

1953 State Highway Map

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. 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 Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more