Route Description
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.
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.
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.
The majority of SR 180, from SR 25 to the entrance of General Grant Grove, is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, 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; the road inside of General Grant Grove and Kings Canyon is a Forest Service Byway. The old route east of SR 99 to the General Grant Grove is part of the National Highway System.
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.
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 highly congested SR 168 interchange, the most-traveled highway segment in the San Joaquin Valley. A study into the use of Measure C funds found that traffic volumes will likely increase between 50% and 100% across the entire road by 2020, especially in the more rural areas.
Read more about this topic: California State Route 180
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