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Author Topic: SSR 41 Original Alignment Kings County  (Read 3390 times)

Max Rockatansky

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SSR 41 Original Alignment Kings County
« on: April 23, 2017, 02:22:40 PM »

Finally got back out and about after ripping up a tendon in my foot.  Given that I've already done the alignment history on CA 41 in San Luis Obispo County I've been looking into Kings County as well.  Surprisingly the original alignment is kind of odd with various 90 degree turns and a weird loop through the Kettelman Hills.  The original alignment can be seen here on this 1935 California Division of Highways Map of Kings County:

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~247293~5515357:Kings-County-?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:california%2Bdivision%2Bof%2Bhighways;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=35&trs=160

Started out on Elm Avenue at Camden Fresno County which carried CA 41 south of the city of Fresno, basically I more or less did this album in a southern direction.  Camden is one of the San Joaquin Valley towns that really isn't an inhabited place anymore.  Supposedly Camden had a post office for a couple years in the early 20th century but today there is nothing but a gas station and a couple abandoned houses:

0CamdenElmAve by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

1CamdenElmAve by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

41 ran south on Elm to Excelsior Avenue along the Kings County Line before making right turn to run west.   

6ExcelAve by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

The original alignment on Excelsior runs under the modern 41 expressway pictured here.

8ExcelAve by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

41 cut of Excelsior southward again on 19th 1/2 Avenue at a place called Hub.  Supposedly Hub is named after some bar that carries an identical name and for reason it is considered a "place" even back on the 1935 Kings County Map.  There was a railroad through Hub in the 1930s which might lend explanation to why it exists as it could have been a railroad siding.

9Hub by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

About a half mile south of hub 19th 1/2 Ave ends at the modern 41 expressway, it appears the northbound lanes were the original alignment south to Lemoore.  It appears that Hub was bypassed by 1965 as the change in alignment can be seen from 1964 to 1965 on the state highway maps:

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239525~5511850:State-Highway-Map,-California,-1964?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=27&trs=86

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239522~5511848:State-Highway-Map,-California,-1965?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=25&trs=86

12a219thHalf by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Modern 41 continues as expressway on the alignment of what was 19th 1/2 Avenue until Hanford/Armona Road (Old SSR 198) where it swings west to bypass Lemoore.  19th 1/2 Avenue still exists within Lemoore and has a really obvious cut-off stub on the right in this picture.

116Lemoore19thandHalfAveNorthEnd by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

I'm not certain but I believe Lemoore was bypassed by the 41 expressway in 1967 as a stub bow of the highway can be seen on the state highway map that wasn't present in 1966:

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239516~5511844:State-Highway-Map,-California,-

118Lemoore19thandHalf by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

South of Lemoore the modern expressway ends and 41 merges back in with the alignment of 19th 1/2 Avenue.  Both SSR 41 and SSR 198 would have taken an western right hand turn at Jackson Avenue.

119Lemoore19thandHalfandJacksonAveJunction by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

41 dropped off of 198 at 20th Avenue where it took a left turn to head south again.  Oddly this 90 degree turn wasn't bypassed until the early 1970s and the change can be seen from the 1970 State Highway Map to 1975:

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239509~5511840:State-Highway-Map,-California,-1970?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=17&trs=86

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239506~5511838:California-State-Highways,-December?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=15&trs=86

120SSR41Spliton20th by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

I took a slight detour from here west on Jackson Avenue on Old SSR 198.   The alignment continues over the Kings River on two cool old bridges to an eventual dead end at a power line pole in front of the modern 198 freeway.  This segment of 198 was opened as a freeway in 1964:

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239528~5511852:State-Highway-Map,-California,-1963?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=29&trs=86

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239525~5511850:State-Highway-Map,-California,-1964?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=27&trs=86

121OldSSR198 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

122OldSSR198Bridge1 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

125OldSSR198Bridge2 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

126OldSSR198JacksonAveEnd by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr
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Max Rockatansky

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Re: SSR 41 Original Alignment Kings County
« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2017, 02:44:54 PM »

Continuing south on 41 the original alignment used to run directly through Stratford and continued straight on 20th Avenue here.

IMG_5989 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Suffice to say 20th Avenue has seen better days.

IMG_5992 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

41 original took a right here to turn west on Laurel Avenue.

IMG_5994 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

41 continued west into downtown Stratford where the southbound/northbound lanes bisected the town square on one-way Main Street before converging again.  At the town limits of Stratford Main Street becomes Laurel Avenue and 41 continued west.  Stratford was bypassed by the modern 41 alignment in what appears to be 1957 as a difference can be seen on the state highway map from 1956:

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239549~5511866:Road-Map-of-the-State-of-California?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=43&trs=86

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239546~5511864:Road-Map-of-the-State-of-California?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=41&trs=86

IMG_5996 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_6001 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_6002 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_6004 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Originally 41 continued west past the modern highway alignment over the Kings River on this bridge.

IMG_6007 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

41 took another sudden southward turn here left on 22nd Avenue.

IMG_6009 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

41 originally ran south to what is still the current southwesterly alignment to Kettleman City. The bypass for Laurel Avenue and 22nd Avenue was opened between 1942 and 1944:

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239582~5511888:Road-Map-of-the-State-of-California?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=65&trs=86

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239579~5511886:Road-Map-of-the-State-of-California?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=63&trs=86

IMG_6010 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_6011 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr


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Max Rockatansky

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Re: SSR 41 Original Alignment Kings County
« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2017, 03:17:59 PM »

41 from 22nd Avenue through Kettleman City is essentially the same as it always been.  Interestingly if you are heading south and look to your left you can see the bed of Tulare Lake...but more on that soon.  The Kettelman Hills and the Diablo Range can be seen directly ahead.

IMG_6012 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_6013 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Kettleman City was settled in 1929 near the site of a ferry after Tulare Lake had largely dried out.  The big draw was the oil fields up in the Kettelman Hills.  Despite the name Kettleman City isn't an incorporated place and is an infamous speed trap for CA 41.

IMG_6016 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Originally 41 continued south on 25th Avenue here instead of directly straight towards I-5.

IMG_6017 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Really there isn't much to see the way of the old alignment of 41 as the roadway on 25th was apparently upgraded during the construction of I-5.  Later construction of the California Aqueduct led to the original alignment getting cut-off in the Kettelman Hills but I'll touch on that in a couple photos.

IMG_6018 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

This photo is taken from behind the In-n-Out Burger in a parking lot.  The California Aquaduct can be seen in the distance and 41 would have followed 25th Avenue along side it.  Beyond that looking east in the low lying farm land was all once Tulare Lake which was once the largest fresh water lake west of the Great Lakes.  Apparently Tulare Lake was measured at 570 square miles in 1849 to a high or 690 square miles in 1879.  Tulare Lake was fed by the Kings, Kaweah, Tule, and Kern River basins which were largely engineered for irrigation or flood control.  As I said before the lake level was low enough by the 1920s that the previous ferry location was settled as Kettleman City and a portion of modern CA 41 actually was within in the high crest of the lake.  The last major flood of Tulare Lake was back in 1938 and it largely has remained farm land ever since.  The last state highway map to show Tulare Lake was in 1922 where it can be seen directly south of Stratford:

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239609~5511903:Road-Map-of-the-State-of-California?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=81&trs=86

Incidentally the Great Western Divide at over 13,000 feet in elevation can be seen way off to the east.

IMG_6025 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Modern 41 basically is a direct southwest shot through the Kettelman Hills whereas the original alignment crossed the location of the California Aquaduct and curved through the terrain.  Most of the original alignment is inaccessible save for a small strip at the gate in this picture where I'm looking in the direction of the northbound lanes.  Apparently the original alignment of 41 still appears as "Old State Highway" on modern maps and can be easily seen from Google.  The original alignment appears to have always been dirt/gravel and was replaced in 1960.  Even the new alignment 41 uses today through the Kettleman Hills doesn't appear to have been paved along with the Kettleman Plain until 1962.

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239537~5511858:State-Highway-Map,-California,-1960?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=35&trs=86

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239534~5511856:State-Highway-Map,-California,-1961?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=33&trs=86

IMG_6026 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

The original alignment of 41 crossed the modern highway at this point heading westward.

IMG_6036 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Then used the road occupied by the current Waste Management site and wrapped around the dump site.

IMG_6037 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Directly south of the Kettelman Hills 41 rejoined the more or less current alignment approaching CA 33.  I'm fairly certain looking north that the original alignment of 41 can been seen following the power lines to the Waste Management dump site.

IMG_6038 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_6039 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

« Last Edit: April 28, 2017, 08:00:43 AM by Max Rockatansky »
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Max Rockatansky

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Re: SSR 41 Original Alignment Kings County
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2017, 03:24:46 PM »

South from here to CA 46 the alignment of CA 41 is largely the same as it always has been sans for one difference.  For whatever reason in this valley the original alignment was replaced with a new road directly to east of the old one.  The original 41 has been ground down by a grading machine in the somewhat recent past and has evidence of stray strips of asphalt.  the old alignment actually crosses a gas station parking lot and even CA 33 before it merges back in with the modern highway.

IMG_6045 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_6052 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_6053 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

« Last Edit: April 23, 2017, 10:30:46 PM by Max Rockatansky »
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Max Rockatansky

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Re: SSR 41 Original Alignment Kings County
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2017, 10:30:21 PM »

Found some additional pieces to the puzzle with 41 in Kings County.  First; behind the gate in the Kettleman Hills on Reply #2 there is a left over highway bridge that still exists:

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9541175,-119.9727521,116m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

Too bad the gate is there, that would have made for a nice like jog maybe the mile or so it takes to get to it.

Secondly; there is a GSV imagine from 2016 of the old grade south of the Kettleman Hills that shows a Caltrans crew ripping up the old alignment:

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9312903,-120.0205411,3a,15y,211.5h,86.4t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sDYx3pO_0U58NNx8beFQFew!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Thought this 1876 map of Tulare County was neat, it shows Tulare Lake pretty close to when it when completely full.  Both CA 41 and CA 43 would be underwater along with Corcoran while Alpaugh would be part of Root Island.

http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~205302~3002357:Map-Of-Tulare-County-California-?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:tulare%2Blake;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=17&trs=31
« Last Edit: April 23, 2017, 11:03:55 PM by Max Rockatansky »
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SeriesE

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Re: SSR 41 Original Alignment Kings County
« Reply #5 on: April 24, 2017, 06:38:00 PM »

Odd. Why not keep the old road and make that section of 41 a 4-lane expressway?
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Max Rockatansky

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Re: SSR 41 Original Alignment Kings County
« Reply #6 on: April 24, 2017, 06:48:10 PM »

Odd. Why not keep the old road and make that section of 41 a 4-lane expressway?

I think that the old alignment was flood prone.  You can see the grade is way lower to the valley floor than new one.  Really though the four lanes would be really a welcome addition since it would allow cars a much longer run-up to pass the trucks before the mountain pass south of 33 near the county line.

It is a strange tactic for Caltrans, I haven't really seen them build one alignment only abandon the old one very often.  ADOT out in Arizona has a big track record with using the practice, especially along US 89 and what was US 80.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2017, 08:57:12 PM by Max Rockatansky »
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