California State Route 58

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State Route 58
Defined by S&HC § 358, maintained by Caltrans
Length:	241 mi[1] (388 km)
Formed:	1964
West end:	US 101 near Santa Margarita
Major junctions:	SR 99 in Bakersfield SR 14 near Mojave
East end:	I-15 in Barstow
State highways in California (list - pre-1964) County routes in California (list) < SR 57 SR 59 > History - Unconstructed - Deleted - Freeway - Scenic

Westbound SR 58 near Mojave

State Route 58 is an east-west highway across the southern San Joaquin Valley, the Tehachapi Mountains, which border the southern Sierra Nevada, and the Mojave Desert. It runs between its western terminus near Santa Margarita (junction U.S. Route 101) and its eastern terminus at Barstow (junction Interstate 15). It has junctions with Interstate 5 near Buttonwillow, State Route 99 in Bakersfield, State Route 202 in Tehachapi, State Route 14 in Mojave, and U.S. Route 395 at Kramer Junction. Route 58 gives good access to Edwards Air Force Base.

Route 58 is a freeway from its south junction with Route 99 in Bakersfield to several miles east of Mojave (a freeway bypass of Mojave was completed in 2004), except for two grade-level intersections two miles apart in the Caliente area. There is another grade level intersection east of Mojave and west of the main Edwards AFB north gate exit where California City Blvd. intersects it. Other freeway segments are bypasses of Boron and Barstow. Except for the Boron freeway bypass, SR 58 is a four lane expressway (two lanes per direction) just east of Boron up to the Barstow bypass segment.

Route 58 takes the southernmost route through the Sierra Nevada and allows motorists to travel between the Central Valley and points to the east, such as Las Vegas, Nevada and Phoenix, Arizona without having to face the extreme traffic congestion of greater Los Angeles. Route 58 is the only freeway to cross the Sierra Nevada range south of I-80, the only other freeway to cross the Sierra. The route also offers an alternative to the often treacherous Donner Pass to truckers traveling from the San Francisco Bay Area to points eastward; prior to the construction of Interstate 80, the road (as U.S. 466) was heavily used for this purpose.

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

California has long sought federal funds for an extension of Interstate 40 west of Barstow; any such extension would use the general path of Route 58, if not existing highway, as far west at least as Bakersfield, whose rapid growth has made it a significant generator of traffic in its own right. The desired highway is being built piecemeal as Caltrans has funds available. A Bakersfield Beltway is also proposed.

Route 58 west of Buttonwillow is a winding mountain road through a thinly-populated area. Alternatives such as State Route 46 to the north or State Route 166 to the south are recommended^{[citation needed]}. However, this section of SR 58 does pass through the Carrizo Plain National Monument, which is known for its scenic beauty and geological features, including the San Andreas Fault.

This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System^[2] and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System^[3].

[edit] History

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 SR 58 between Bakersfield and Barstow was signed U.S. Route 466. Also at that time, the segment of Route 58 between State Route 33 at Mc Kittrick and 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 Mc Kittrick 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 north of Barstow. Route 58 was rerouted to I-15 in Barstow south of the I-40 interchange. The former eastern terminus is now known as "Old Highway 58."

[edit] Major intersections and exit list

Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

County	Location	Postmile [4][5][6]	#[7]	Destinations	Notes
San Luis Obispo SLO 0.00-57.15	Santa Margarita	0.00		US 101	Interchange
		3.14		Pozo Road – Santa Margarita Lake
		6.89		SR 229 north – Creston, Shandon
Kern KER 0.00-R143.86	McKittrick	15.41 33 33.45		SR 33 south – Taft	West end of SR 33 overlap
		33 34.29 15.42		SR 33 north – Coalinga	East end of SR 33 overlap
	Buttonwillow	27.28		To I-5 north / Buttonwillow Drive
				Mirasol Avenue – Taft
		28.75		Wasco Way – Tupman
		31.64		I-5 – Sacramento, Los Angeles
		39.96 43 8.11		SR 43 north – Shafter	West end of SR 43 overlap
		43 9.16 39.97		SR 43 south	East end of SR 43 overlap
	Bakersfield	51.81 99 25.65		SR 99 north / SR 178 east – Fresno, Sacramento, Downtown Bakersfield	West end of SR 99 overlap
		West end of freeway
		99 24.60	25	California Avenue – Civic Center
		99 23.62		Stockdale Highway, Brundage Lane	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		99 23.51 R52.36	110A	SR 99 south – Los Angeles	East end of SR 99 overlap; no exit number eastbound
		T52.14		Real Road	Westbound left exit and eastbound entrance
		R53.39- R53.52	111	Chester Avenue, H Street
		R54.42	112	SR 204 (Union Avenue, Bus. 99)
		R55.40	113	Cottonwood Road
		R56.41	114	Mt. Vernon Avenue
		R57.41	115	Oswell Street
		R58.44	116	Fairfax Road
		R59.44	117	SR 184 (Weedpatch Highway, Morning Drive) – Lamont
		R61.51	119	Edison Road – Edison
		R63.58	121	Comanche Drive – Arvin, Edison
		R65.68	123	Tower Line Road
		69.75	127	General Beale Road
	East end of freeway
		75.63		SR 223 west – Arvin
		77.25		Bealville Road – Caliente
	West end of freeway
		80.24	137	Hart Flat
		82.06	139	Keene
		R85.15	142	Broome Road
		R90.72	148	SR 202 (Tehachapi Boulevard, Bus. 58 east) – Tehachapi
	Tehachapi	R91.67	149	Mill Street
		R94.16	151	Tehachapi Boulevard (Bus. 58 west) – Monolith, Tehachapi
		R99.49	156	Sand Canyon Road – Monolith
		R101.56	159	Cameron Road
		M108.90	165	SR 58 Bus. east – Mojave
		M111.13	167	SR 14 – Bishop, Mojave
		M116.22	172	SR 58 Bus. west – Mojave
	East end of freeway
		R127.63		California City Boulevard
	West end of freeway
		R129.67	186	Edwards AFB
		R132.04	188	Clay Mine Road
		R136.40	193	Twenty Mule Team Road
		R137.77	194	Gephart Road, Rocket Site Road
		R139.80	196	Borax Road, Rocket Site Road
	Boron	R142.87	199	Boron Avenue – Boron
San Bernardino SBD R0.00-R34.81	East end of freeway
	Kramer Junction	5.40		US 395 – Bishop, San Bernardino
	West end of freeway
	Barstow	R33.65		West Main Street
		R34.81		I-15 – Las Vegas, San Bernardino	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance

[edit] Other names

Route 58 has the following names, as designated by various state laws:^[8]

• Blue Star Memorial Highway: Runs the entire length of the highway.
• Kern County Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway: From Route 184 to the Kern County / San Bernardino County line. Named for the approximately 8.120 veterans of the Korean War who came from Kern County.
• Rosa Parks Highway: From Route 99 to Route 184. Named after civil rights activist Rosa Parks.

[edit] Other Landmarks

Route 58, California

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

• Edwards Air Force Base

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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