California State Route 58

State Route 58 (SR 58) is a major east-west state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs across the Coast Ranges, the southern San Joaquin Valley, the Tehachapi Mountains, which border the southern Sierra Nevada, and the Mojave Desert. It runs between U.S. Route 101 near Santa Margarita and Interstate 15 in Barstow. It has junctions with Interstate 5 near Buttonwillow, State Route 99 in Bakersfield, State Route 202 in Tehachapi, State Route 14 near Mojave, and U.S. Route 395 at Kramer Junction. SR 58 also provides access to Edwards Air Force Base. At various points it is known as the Calf Canyon Highway, Carrisa Highway, Bakersfield-McKittrick Highway, Rosa Parks Highway, Westside Parkway, Barstow-Bakersfield Highway, Bakersfield Tehachapi Highway, Kern County Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway, and Mojave-Barstow Highway.

Route description

File:California Wildflowers off Bitterwater Rd 23Mar2010.jpg

Spring Wildflowers off SR 58 near California Valley, 2010

Route 58 is defined as follows in section 358, subdivision (a), of the California Streets and Highways Code:<ref name="CSHC358">Template:Cite web</ref>

Route 58 is from:
(1) Route 101 near Santa Margarita to Route 33.
(2) Route 33 to Route 43.
(3) Route 43 to just west of Van Buren Place near Bakersfield.
(4) Mohawk Street near Bakersfield to Route 99.
(5) Route 99 to Route 15 near Barstow via Bakersfield and Mojave.

Due to ongoing freeway construction projects in Bakersfield and unincorporated Kern and San Bernardino counties, the definition has yet to be amended by the legislature and may not accurately reflect current or former rights of way maintained by Caltrans. The definition also omits Route 58's concurrencies with other routes instead of duplicating those segments in those other routes' definitions in the code.

State Route 58 between Santa Margarita and Buttonwillow is a winding mountain road through a thinly populated area. From its westernmost terminus at US 101 near Santa Margarita, a few miles north of San Luis Obispo, SR 58 heads east along the former US 101 (El Camino Real) for one mile. SR 58 then heads east and up the winding mountain road, passing through a thinly populated area and an intersection with SR 229. Alternatives such as SR 46 to the north or SR 166 to the south are recommended, as much of this section of SR 58 is prohibited to truck traffic. However, this section of SR 58 does pass through the Carrizo Plain, which is known for its scenic beauty and geological features, including the San Andreas Fault. SR 58 then takes another winding road before joining with State Route 33 in the small town of McKittrick. SR 33 then splits at the north end of McKittrick before SR 58 then enters another, but brief winding road. SR 58 then proceeds northeast for several miles before changing to an east-west alignment and reaching Buttonwillow. SR 58 then joins with the north-south Interstate 5 (I-5) for a few miles to Stockdale Highway, where it resumes heading east and intersects with State Route 43 before reaching Bakersfield. In Bakersfield, the route follows the Westside Parkway to reach State Route 99 at the West Bakersfield Interchange.

East of SR 99, SR 58 briefly enters expressway status with two at-grade intersections in the Caliente area before resuming freeway status east of Caliente. SR 58 then reaches the Tehachapi city limits and traverses the Tehachapi Pass before dropping out of the Tehachapi Mountains into the Antelope Valley at the town of Mojave. Freeway conditions continue from State Route 14 east of Mojave bypassing North Edwards, Edwards Air Force Base, Boron, and Kramer Junction. Approximately Template:Convert east of an interchange with U.S. Route 395, SR 58 resumes expressway status with two lanes in each direction until just before reaching the easternmost terminus at Interstate 15 in Barstow.

With the lack of four-lane or greater, divided highways that cross the Sierra Nevada between SR 58 at the Tehachapi Pass and Interstate 80 at Donner Summit about hundreds of miles to the north, I-5 and SR 58 are used by motorists to travel between Northern California and points to the southeast, such as Las Vegas (via I-15) and Interstate 40, without having to face the extreme traffic congestion of greater Los Angeles.

SR 58 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,<ref name="cafes">Template:CAFESystem</ref> and east of I-5 is part of the National Highway System,<ref name=fhwa-nhs>Template:FHWA NHS map</ref> a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.<ref name=NHS-FHWA>Template:FHWA NHS</ref> SR 58 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System,<ref name="scenic">Template:CA scenic</ref> but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.<ref name="caltransscenic">Template:Caltrans scenic</ref> SR 58 has several names throughout its length, including the Blue Star Memorial Highway (for its entire length); the Kern County Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway, for the section from SR 184 to the Kern County/San Bernardino County Line; and the Rosa Parks Highway, for the section between SR 99 and SR 184. The Korean War Veterans name honors the approximately 8,120 veterans from Kern County, while the section named for Rosa Parks honors the civil rights activist.<ref>Template:CA Named Freeways</ref> The portion of SR 58 from Barstow to Bakersfield is sometimes referred to as the Barstow–Bakersfield Highway.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>

History

File:Hwy58TemblorRange.jpg

Westbound SR 58 in the Temblor Range, descending into the Carrizo Plain

File:Antelope valley californie.jpg

A truck passes eastbound along the busy SR 58 through the Antelope Valley. The Tehachapi Mountains are visible in the distance.

State Route 58 did not exist as a California sign route until 1964, although previous to 1964, it was part of California Legislative Route 58. The other part of Legislative Route 58 is California's segment of Interstate 40; previous to 1964 it was a segment of US 66.

Prior to 1964, the segment of State Route 58 between Bakersfield and Barstow was signed U.S. Route 466. Also at that time, the segment of SR 58 between State Route 33 at McKittrick and State Route 99 in Bakersfield was signed as State Route 178. Although it was proposed for signing as Route 178 in 1934, the segment of Legislative Route 58 between US 101 near Santa Margarita and State Route 33 at McKittrick was not signed prior to 1964.

Note that US 466 was co-signed with US 99, now State Route 99, between Bakersfield and Famoso Junction. Between Famoso and US 101 at Paso Robles, US 466 largely became SR 46.

The eastern terminus was originally at I-15 in northeastern Barstow. SR 58 was rerouted to I-15 in Barstow south of the I-40 interchange in Template:Circa.Template:Citation needed The former eastern terminus is now known as "Old Highway 58".

Freeway bypasses in Tehachapi, Boron, Mojave, Hinkley, and Kramer Junction were completed in Template:Circa, 1981, 2003, 2017, and 2019, respectively.Template:Citation needed

Westside Parkway and the Centennial Corridor Project

In western Bakersfield, the Westside Parkway, a freeway running from Stockdale Highway (near Heath Road) east to Truxtun Avenue, was completed on April 15, 2015, with interchanges in between at Allen Road, Calloway Drive, Coffee Road, and Mohawk Street.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Opening in stages since 2013, the road was originally under the jurisdiction of the city of Bakersfield. As part of the Centennial Corridor project, Caltrans built an extension of the Westside Parkway east to the junction of SR 58 and SR 99 at the West Bakersfield Interchange. Although construction was controversial since it displaced dozens of homes and businesses,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> by September 2017, all but a few buildings in the path had been demolished.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On February 5, 2021, the city transferred the Westside Parkway to Caltrans and California Highway Patrol jurisdiction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> City officials then announced in October 2022 that the project was nearly complete, and that they were working on the last 800 feet of the connection, specifically, the northbound SR 99 to westbound SR 58 transition ramp, with an estimated 8 months of construction left at the time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Meanwhile, Caltrans began installing signage rerouting SR 58 traffic from I-5 onto Stockdale Highway and the Westside Parkway east to at least Mohawk Street. Prior to, SR 58 immediately headed due east from I-5 to briefly join SR 43, then ran to Bakersfield along Rosedale Highway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Centennial Corridor was inaugurated on February 9, 2024, with a ceremonial bicycle ride,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and officially opened to traffic on February 17, 2024.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The rest of SR 58 on Rosedale Highway between Mohawk Street and SR 99 is planned to be transferred to city control.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Future plans are to upgrade Stockdale Highway from I-5 to Heath Road as a freeway.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Major intersections

Template:CAinttopExits on the Westside Parkway segment are currently unnumbered. Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:Jctrestarea Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:CAint Template:Jctbtm Template:Reflist

Business loops

Tehachapi

Template:Infobox road small State Route 58 Business (SR 58 Bus.) is a business route of California State Route 58 in Tehachapi. It provides access to downtown Tehachapi as Tehachapi Boulevard. It also follows the former routing of U.S. Route 466 and is overlapped with State Route 202.

Major intersections

Mojave

Template:Infobox road small State Route 58 Business (SR 58 Bus.) is a business route of California State Route 58 that runs through Mojave. It provides access to downtown Mojave as Mojave-Barstow Highway. It follows mostly the former routing of U.S. Route 466.

Major intersections

Boron

Template:Infobox road small State Route 58 Business (SR 58 Bus.) is a business route of California State Route 58 that runs between Boron and Kramer Junction. It provides access to downtown Boron as Twenty Mule Team Road. It also follows the former routing of U.S. Route 466. It is signed from SR 58 at Borax Road to the old SR 58 split near the Kern–San Bernardino county line (where the old SR 58 now dead ends following the 2020 completion of the freeway bypass in Kramer Junction). From here to US 395 in Kramer Junction, following the old alignment of SR 58 (and US 466), the business route is unsigned.

Major intersections

See also

• Template:Portal-inline

External links

• California Highways State Route 58
• California @ AARoads.com - State Route 58