California State Route 180

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For the interstate highway, see Interstate 180 (California).

State Route 180

California State
Route 180
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
For the interstate highway, see Interstate
180 (California).

SR 180 highlighted in red

Route information

Defined by Streets and Highways Code § 480

Maintained by Caltrans

Length 112.31 mi[2] (180.75 km)

(via old route in Fresno)

Existed 1934 [1]–present

Tourist
Kings Canyon Scenic Byway
routes

Major junctions

West end SR 33 in Mendota

SR 99 in Fresno
SR 41 in Fresno
SR 63 near Orange Cove
SR 245 in Sierra National Forest
SR 198 in General Grant Grove

East end Dead end in Kanawyers in Kings Canyon

National Park

Location
 Counties Fresno, Tulare

Highway system

 State highways in California

 Interstate
 U.S.
 State
o Pre-1964
 History
 Unconstructed
 Deleted
 Freeway
 Scenic
← SR 178 SR 182 →

State Route 180 (SR 180) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs through the heart
of the San Joaquin Valley from State Route 33 in Mendota through Fresno, and then east towards
the Sierra Nevada to Kings Canyon National Park.
An unbuilt segment of SR 180 is defined west to Paicines. Nearly the entire 24-mile (39 km) stretch
from the Kings River crossing to Cedar Grove is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System, and
nearly the entire route from Paicines to Cedar Grove is part of the California Freeway and
Expressway System. Two short segments travel through national parks, so are not state maintained
and are the exceptions to the above: a segment through the General Grant Grove section of Kings
Canyon National Park, and the far eastern end of the road inside of Kings Canyon National Park.
The freeway through Fresno has the distinction of having the most heavily traveled section of road in
the San Joaquin Valley. Major plans include an extension west from Mendota to Interstate 5.

Contents

 1Route description
 2History
o 2.1Controversy
 3Future
 4Major intersections
 5See also
 6References
 7External links

Route description[edit]
The actual western terminus of SR 180 is at SR 33 in Mendota, with an unconstructed portion
defined west across Interstate 5 to SR 25 in Paicines, currently signed as County Route J1.
(See Future) In Mendota, the route is carried on Oller Street and San Benito Avenue, then travels
along Whitesbridge Avenue through Kerman to Fresno.
Northbound on SR 41, approaching its interchange with SR 180. The mainline traffic of SR 180 is on the lowest
overpass.

Through Fresno, from Brawley Avenue to DeWolf Avenue, it is a 4-to-10-lane freeway intersecting
SR 99 in a 2-level stack, SR 41 in a 4-level stack, and the southern terminus of SR 168; officially,
CalTrans considers the freeway SR 180S (supplemental) until the old highway on downtown surface
streets is relinquished.[3][4]
SR 180 is a busy commercial route along most of its urban length, being a main street of Mendota,
Kerman, Minkler, and Fresno's Squaw Valley, as was the old highway through Fresno. In east
Fresno, the Kings Canyon corridor is one of the largest multicultural business districts in the city,
together with east Belmont a mile north. The old Fresno "main street" of Broadway has long been
torn down for Chuckchansi Park and Fulton Mall parking, but Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Ventura
Streets remain commercially viable, despite having fallen into some neglect over the years. This
segment is being redeveloped as part of the Ventura Widening and Downtown Entryway
Beautification Project,[5] as well as the preservation or relocation of a number of historic buildings
in Old Armenian Town on Ventura, with the creation of a new commercial district by the same
name.[6]
The old routing of SR 180 through downtown Fresno remains on the books, but is no longer signed
and not considered a business route. The road no longer connects with its freeway bypass at all; the
east and west ends terminate in cul-de-sacs. Local agencies are now generally forced to maintain or
improve the road.[5]

Rolinda Store, Fresno County


East extent of Kerman along SR 180.
East of Fresno, the freeway links up with the original routing on Kings Canyon Blvd, and continues
north of Sanger, through Centerville, Minkler and Fresno's Squaw Valley, before arriving at the
entrance to Sierra National Forest near Dunlap. It follows the Kings River into General Grant Grove,
where SR 198 splits off south toward Sequoia National Park. SR 180 turns north, passing
through Wilsonia, leaving General Grant Grove, then turns east as it nears the South Fork of the
Kings River near Hume, passes through Cedar Grove, and terminates in Kanawyers at the entrance
of the Kings Canyon National Park. The entire portion beyond Hume Road is closed during winters,
usually after the first snowfall.[7]
The majority of SR 180, from SR 25 to the entrance of General Grant Grove, is part of the California
Freeway and Expressway System,[8] but only the piece in Fresno has actually been constructed to
freeway standards. A 24-mile (39 km) length east of unbuilt State Route 65 near Minkler to the
boundary of Kings Canyon, excepting the 2-mile (3.2 km) portion through General Grant Grove, is
eligible for the State Scenic Highway System;[9] most of this segment was officially designated as a
scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation in 2016.[10][11] The road inside of
General Grant Grove and Kings Canyon is a National Forest Service Byway known as the Kings
Canyon Scenic Byway.[12] The old route east of SR 99 to the General Grant Grove is part of
the National Highway System,[13] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's
economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[14]
In Fresno, SR 180 is Sequoia-Kings Canyon Freeway, named for its destinations to the east in
the Sierra Nevada - Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. Overlapping this,
between SR 99 and Clovis Avenue it is the Senator Jim Costa Highway, after a longtime
Assemblyman, Senator, and Congressman for Fresno; between Clovis Avenue and General Grant
Grove Park, in the County of Fresno, it is the Senator Chuck Poochigian Highway, after the State
Senator who sponsored the funding bills for its completion. The SR 41/SR 180 interchange is named
the Rose Ann Vuich Interchange, for the longtime State Senator who secured funding for the initial
freeway. Inside of Kings Canyon it is the Kings River Highway.[15]
SR 180 handles a wide range of traffic volumes, from a low of 5,000 per day near Kerman, to over
160,000 at the h