California State Route 59

State Route 59 (SR 59) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California located entirely in Merced County. It connects State Route 152 near El Nido to the city of Merced and beyond, ending abruptly at the intersection of County Routes J59 and J16 in Snelling.

State Route 59
SR 59 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length	33.76 mi[1] (54.33 km)
Major junctions
South end	SR 152 near El Nido
Major intersections	SR 99 / SR 140 in Merced
North end	CR J16 / CR J59 in Snelling
Location
Country	United States
State	California
Counties	Merced
Highway system
State highways in California Interstate US State Scenic History Pre‑1964 Unconstructed Deleted Freeways
← SR 58 → SR 60

Route description

SR 59 begins at SR 152 as Los Banos Highway. The highway travels north through the town of El Nido until entering the city of Merced, where it runs concurrently with the SR 99 freeway and with SR 140. SR 59 leaves the concurrency on the west side of Merced and travels north as the Snelling Highway. The highway winds up the Sierra Nevada foothills until it passes through Snelling, where it ends.^[2]

SR 59 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,^[3] but except for a portion in Merced is not part of the National Highway System,^[4] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.^[5]

Future

In January 2010, the Tuolumne County board of supervisors made a formal request to the state to add the entire length of County Route J59 as a northerly extension of State Route 59 from its terminus in Snelling, Merced County, to the intersection of State Routes 108 and 120 in Tuolumne County.

Major intersections

Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions).^[6] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The entire route is in Merced County.

Location	Postmile [6][1][7]	Destinations	Notes
​	0.00	SR 152 – Madera, Los Banos	Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance; south end of SR 59
Merced	14.77 14.69[N 1]	SR 99 south / SR 140 east / Martin Luther King Jr. Way – Los Angeles, Yosemite	Interchange; south end of SR 99 / SR 140 overlap; SR 99 exit 187B
		South end of freeway on SR 99
	15.80[N 1] 14.78	North end of freeway on SR 99
		SR 99 north / SR 140 west (McSwain Road) / V Street – Sacramento, Gustine	Interchange; north end of SR 99 / SR 140 overlap; SR 99 exit 188
	14.98	V Street, 16th Street south (SR 99 Bus. south)	South end of SR 99 Bus. overlap; former US 99 south
	15.35	16th Street north (SR 99 Bus. north)	North end of SR 99 Bus. overlap; former US 99 north
	16.10	CR J7 (Santa Fe Drive) / West Olive Avenue
​	19.00	Bellevue Road – Yosemite Lake	Serves UC Merced
​	R28.81	CR J17 (Turlock Road) – Turlock
Snelling	33.00	CR J16 west (Montgomery Street)	South end of CR J16 overlap
	33.71	CR J16 east (Merced Falls Road) / CR J59 (La Grange Road) – Merced Falls, Hornitos, La Grange, Sonora	North end of CR J16 overlap; north end of SR 59
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

1. Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 99 rather than SR 59.

See also

• California Roads portal