From here to Porterville is a mostly 40-mile (64 km) rural two-lane highway through hills and grasslands while passing through the communities of Ducor and Terra Bella.

After passing through Wheatland, it assumes its freeway designation a few miles north of the town, ending at State Route 70 in Olivehurst.

In 2000, Caltrans issued a Project Study Report (PSR) that analyzed six alternative alignments for the proposed Wheatland Bypass.

Alternative E would start at the northern end of the Lincoln Bypass, and proceed due north, crossing the Bear River on a new bridge to the east of the existing SR 65 alignment.

Although Caltrans completed the PSR in 2000 that identified the preferred alignment, the Wheatland Bypass remains unfunded.

Funding issues and environmental concerns have stalled the extension of SR 65 to Yuba City and the third Feather River Bridge.

However, officials in Stanislaus County believed that an additional major north-south freeway was needed to serve the east side of the valley.

In addition, efforts were underway for the upgrade of the Golden State Freeway through the center of the valley.

In Sacramento County, land was reserved south of Roseville, and a freeway-to-freeway interchange was constructed at US 50 and Sunrise Boulevard.

The northern section originally was US 99E, running from Marysville to Roseville, and was converted to SR 65 during the state highway renumbering effort in 1964.

The portion of Sunrise Boulevard south of US 50 was added to the SR 65 routing during the 1970s, but has since been relinquished back to Sacramento County.

[10] With the projected growth of the Central Valley, interest has reemerged in constructing all or part of the unconstructed portion of SR 65.

A multi-county committee has been formed to discuss the transportation needs of the Eastern Central Valley, including the construction of SR 65 over twenty years.

Currently, five cities exist in the eastern Central Valley with population between 15,000 and 20,000 (as of the 2000 census) that do not have access to a north/south state highway.

It would also provide an alternative route for travelers in Southern California and the South Central Valley, to access mountain vacation spots in areas east of Fresno.

[6][11] In the southern section, plans are underway to convert all of the two-lane highway portions to a four-lane expressway.

In the future, SR 65 eventually will become a continuous four-lane freeway from I-80 in Roseville to Riosa Road in Sheridan.

[12] 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.