Went over to Bakersfield to check out the new freeway! (among other things)

Started by transgerman_, January 25, 2024, 06:12:20 PM

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transgerman_

Since I've had some time on my hands, yesterday I went up to Bakersfield to see how the new 58 freeway is looking. Only about a mile of it is yet to be opened between Truxtun Avenue and the 58/99 interchange, and I've heard that it'll open in the near future. I couldn't see much since it was still closed, of course, but I was able to make some good observations.

These mostly contain photos at the 58/99 interchange, at which all the new ramps and bridges appear complete. I saw a company truck driving on the NB99/WB58 flyover, so it's obviously driveable. Also on northbound 99, the overhead signs included westbound 58 on them, though lane striping wasn't done and most of the area that would lead to westbound 58 was closed off. The signs were rather confusing given that ramp isn't open, I must admit...
Unfortunately I couldn't get photos of the signs and such, but I tried my best to get something (ignore the last two images, they have nothing to do with the interchange).
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2frO4uvMTN/?img_index=10

After having lunch in town, I decided to go back on the old 2-lane road into the Tehachapis instead of the 58 freeway (at least up to Route 223, east of that point the old road isn't around until Keene). While the cloudy and sometimes rainy weather might not appeal to most people, I preferred it and I think my photography looked better cloudy than sunny. But there was more outside of Bakersfield to marvel at, as I found a metric sign on northbound US 395 near Adelanto! Those things are pretty rare, especially retroreflective versions like that! Long story short, going to Bakersfield was nice, the freeway between Truxtun and Route 99 is almost done, and the Tehachapis were green and beautiful. Glad I went out and did that.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2gWQQURmkY/?img_index=8
There's nothing as permanent as a temporary solution, and Caltrans makes that philosophy very clear.



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