CA-58 and I-40

[TheStranger]

Basically, the current I-5 is really more of an "I-205" for the Central Valley.

In that light, it's interesting that California twice used Interstate funds to create long mainline new-terrain route bypasses (5 from Wheeler Ridge to Tracy, 15 from Corona to Devore) in a short period of time, instead of keeping the designation on their originally proposed corridors that are in the process of being upgraded to full freeway standards (99) or have since been upgraded (historic 395/15E, current 215). 

It's a reasonable decision.  Build I-5 up the west valley, where land is cheap and it's easy to get a right of way suitable for a 70 mph speed limit.  Upgrading 99 has been a slow process, involving lots of utility and overpass relocation and closure of side streets and substandard entrances and exits.

Hm, maybe it would have made more sense if I-5 in the west valley had been part of I-580 and 99 turned into I-5.

Another way I could have seen this working a bit better is if the 1950s/1960s I-5W designation to the Bay Area had included much of the West Side Freeway to Wheeler Ridge, too. 

I know the last stoplight on 99 between Wheeler Ridge and Sacramento (Livingston) was finally bypassed in 1997, but hadn't the entire road been at least a 4-lane expressway of some sort from the 1960s on?  I don't think it was quite as insane as the pre-1992 stoplight on 101 in Santa Barbara (which wasn't bypassed, but rather, eliminated via new interchange construction).

[nexus73]

Basically, the current I-5 is really more of an "I-205" for the Central Valley.

In that light, it's interesting that California twice used Interstate funds to create long mainline new-terrain route bypasses (5 from Wheeler Ridge to Tracy, 15 from Corona to Devore) in a short period of time, instead of keeping the designation on their originally proposed corridors that are in the process of being upgraded to full freeway standards (99) or have since been upgraded (historic 395/15E, current 215). 

It's a reasonable decision.  Build I-5 up the west valley, where land is cheap and it's easy to get a right of way suitable for a 70 mph speed limit.  Upgrading 99 has been a slow process, involving lots of utility and overpass relocation and closure of side streets and substandard entrances and exits.

Hm, maybe it would have made more sense if I-5 in the west valley had been part of I-580 and 99 turned into I-5.

Another way I could have seen this working a bit better is if the 1950s/1960s I-5W designation to the Bay Area had included much of the West Side Freeway to Wheeler Ridge, too. 

I know the last stoplight on 99 between Wheeler Ridge and Sacramento (Livingston) was finally bypassed in 1997, but hadn't the entire road been at least a 4-lane expressway of some sort from the 1960s on?  I don't think it was quite as insane as the pre-1992 stoplight on 101 in Santa Barbara (which wasn't bypassed, but rather, eliminated via new interchange construction).

Last year and apparently continuing into this year is the project that will eliminate the last 99 expressway segment by Chowchilla and turn it into freeway.  There were other expansion projects on freeway 99 going on too. 

Rick

[nexus73]

Bring back US 99!

Why stop there?  Get rid of interstate numbers, restore the U.S. numbers, and rely on people seeing the thick lines on the map to find freeways.

Not if the map was made by Gousha!  I always liked their use of green (tollways), gold (expressways) and red (freeways) with the three black lines to delineate a divided highway of one of these types.

Rick

[mgk920]

Basically, the current I-5 is really more of an "I-205" for the Central Valley.

In that light, it's interesting that California twice used Interstate funds to create long mainline new-terrain route bypasses (5 from Wheeler Ridge to Tracy, 15 from Corona to Devore) in a short period of time, instead of keeping the designation on their originally proposed corridors that are in the process of being upgraded to full freeway standards (99) or have since been upgraded (historic 395/15E, current 215). 

The 78/22 situation in Allentown/Bethlehem seems to be one of the few parallels to this phenomenon, and that was more an issue of being unable to come up with a viable way to connect the New Jersey section of I-78 with the Lehigh Valley Thruway.

I would draw a better parallel on this with the US 41 v. US 141 between Milwaukee and Green Bay interstate routing thing here in Wisconsin.  US 41 has always been far and away the busier of the two, but many years ago the US 141 routing was chosen for an interstate to Green Bay due to it being far cheaper and faster to develop.  The last part of I-43 opened in the late 1970s while only now, after all of those decades of near constant upgrades, is US 41 being deemed fit to be promoted into a full interstate ('I-41').

Mike

[mrsman]

I never understood why CA-58 was kept on the Rosedale Hwy corridor once the CA-58 freeway reached CA-99.  From CA-99, Rosedale requires a jog to reach I-5, but Stockdale is a straight shot, plus it was very close to the end of the 58 freeway.

And at that time, even if it may seem like "overdoing it" to turn Stockdale into a grade-separated corridor, they could have at least made it into a Calfornia expressway: 2 lanes each direction, wide median, significant set aside of ROW to prevent business encroachment on the corridor.

[andy3175]

Update on the Centennial Corridor from 11/7/2014:

http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x1143262827/Judge-to-rule-on-city-plan-to-finance-freeways

Attorneys for Bakersfield and the West Park Home Owners Association [WHOA] offered differing views in court Friday on whether the city should be able to borrow $240 million for major road projects, then use gas tax, utility surcharge and transportation impact fees to repay it. Bakersfield will need the money to pay its share of major Thomas Roads Improvement Program projects, including the controversial Centennial Corridor link from the Westside Parkway to Highway 58. One possible way to borrow it would be through a federal Department of Transportation loan, which offers later payments and a lower interest rate. But first, the city needs a Kern County Superior Court judge to "validate" whether utility surcharge revenue, gas tax funds and transportation impact fees are appropriate sources to pay back the money. Attorneys argued whether the three funds used to repay the debt are "special funds" and therefore exempt Bakersfield from a constitutional requirement that voters approval it borrowing the money. They also discussed whether there's a state-required "nexus" that the projects be funded with money the roads generate.

It's unclear exactly how long his ruling will take, but attorney Robert Brumfield, who also represents WHOA, said he expects a decision within 90 days.

[andy3175]

More on the Centennial Corridor in Bakersfield ... update on the lawsuit over the proposed connector between SR 58 and existing Westside Parkway:

http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/01/12/highway-plan-has-kern-county-up-in-arms.htm

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (CN) - Hundreds of people will lose their homes and businesses and air quality will go from bad to worse if a state project to connect State Route 58 with Interstate 5 goes forward, Bakersfield residents claim in court.

     Concerned Citizens about Centennial Corridor sued the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in Kern County Court on Friday, alleging violations of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

     Kern County, the city of Bakersfield, and the Kern Council of Governments are named as real parties in interest.

     "It's not every day that you see new freeways being constructed. The era of new freeway building in California is at an end - except in Bakersfield," plaintiff's attorney Jamie Hall told Courthouse News. ...

     A total of 121 businesses and 310 housing units will be demolished for the Centennial Corridor, plus acres of farmland and wetlands.

     Building a new freeway in an area with some of the worst air quality in the nation is highly "suspect," Hall said. ...

     The proposed Centennial Corridor would extend State Route 58 roughly 1.7 miles from its intersection with State Route 99 across the Kern River to the Westside Parkway and ultimately Interstate 5 as part of the Thomas Roads Improvement Plan, which was implemented to address rapid population growth and to "relieve the stress of outdated infrastructure," according to the complaint.

     According to the state webpage about the project, extending State Route 58 has been studied for two decades, but opposition to a connection to the Westside Parkway killed the project until recently.

     In 2005, the National Corridor Infrastructure Act established a program to earmark federal funds for corridor projects that would, among other things, promote regional economic growth, facilitate interregional trade and reduce congestion on existing highways. The Centennial Corridor received $300 million under this program.

     Though the environmental impact report identified two alternate routes and a "no build" alternative that would have fewer environmental impacts, Caltrans rejected the other routes as more expensive and less feasible than Alternative B, Caltrans' preferred option, and the no-project alternative for being unable to meet the area's transportation needs, according to the complaint.

     The plaintiffs submitted comments opposing the project when the draft environmental report was circulated for public review from May to July 2014. Rather than address those comments in a revised report, the plaintiffs say, Caltrans prepared responses that were published in the final report in early December 2015 - a day after Caltrans officially approved the project.

     The plaintiffs claim the final report violates CEQA's mandate to completely analyze all environmental impacts, and fell especially short in its treatment of air quality.

     Bakersfield is surrounded on all sides by mountains, creating a bowl that traps air pollutants such as soot and ozone. Coupled with the area's typically warm weather, the city is usually suffocating under a thick blanket of smog.

[The Ghostbuster]

Although it would be hugely expensive, how about connecting the Westside Parkway with SR 99 via a tunnel? That way far fewer homes and businesses would have to be plowed down.

[ARMOURERERIC]

I think the article is misleading in that there are no new farmlands or wetland to be impacted that have not already been impacted.  And does not the parkway already cross the Kern?  I have been thought the neighborhood around 2003, it was pretty dumpy.

[kkt]

Although I sympathize with West Park's residents' desire not to lose their homes or businesses, the case against building seems like a stretch here.  A tunnel would cost billions, and we're not talking about Yosemite levels of natural beauty or downtown Boston levels of cultural and historical significance.  As Armourereric posted the bridge over the Kern has already been built.  Loss of farmland would occur if and when the Parkway is extended towards I-5, not the current connection project from CA 58 to the Parkway.
As far as air quality, it might actually improve if traffic can move at steady speeds instead of stop 'n go through traffic lights.

[Quillz]

Bring back US 99!

Rick

I am 100% in favor of this!

[BakoCondors]

I think the article is misleading in that there are no new farmlands or wetland to be impacted that have not already been impacted.  And does not the parkway already cross the Kern?  I have been thought the neighborhood around 2003, it was pretty dumpy.

It still is. 58 dead-ends into a dilapidated strip mall. The residential areas around it are early-1950s suburban-bleh homes that for the most part, are still on county land (not within the Bakersfield city limits). A fair number of curbless streets and dirt sidewalks. The Westpark neighborhood is the only nicer part of the area between the 99 and California Ave. Those are the folks fighting the hardest to stop the Centennial Corridor from being built.

ADD: One correction to the story: We are surrounded on three sides by mountains, not all four sides. We are an armpit, not a blocked colon

[Desert Man]

I question the need for I-40 extension from Barstow CA (the junction with I-15) to either Bakersfield with CA route 99 or all the way to Buttonwillow on I-5. Is there any high traffic flow on CA route 58? And I been on the very route a few times as a teen on family road trips to Bakersfield and beyond (to Central and Northern CA). A section of CA route 58 starting in the Kern-SB county line was upgraded into a freeway and a new freeway segment was build bypassing the town of Mojave, as well another segment bypassing the town of Tehachapi. There is some need for a new route with more lanes and less stops, but not sure about renaming that I-40.

[myosh_tino]

I question the need for I-40 extension from Barstow CA (the junction with I-15) to either Bakersfield with CA route 99 or all the way to Buttonwillow on I-5. Is there any high traffic flow on CA route 58? And I been on the very route a few times as a teen on family road trips to Bakersfield and beyond (to Central and Northern CA). A section of CA route 58 starting in the Kern-SB county line was upgraded into a freeway and a new freeway segment was build bypassing the town of Mojave, as well another segment bypassing the town of Tehachapi. There is some need for a new route with more lanes and less stops, but not sure about renaming that I-40.

Depends.

I believe CA-58 is an important trucking route as it avoids having to enter the Los Angeles Basin to reach central and northern California.  I make the drive to Las Vegas a couple of times a year from the S.F. Bay Area and I do see a significant amount of truck traffic on CA-58.  Upgrading the 2-lane portions of CA-58 is sorely needed to improve capacity and safety of the corridor.  Thankfully, the Hinkley segment is currently being upgraded to a 4-lane expressway and should be open in a year or so.

Now, with that said, I do not see a need to route I-40 over CA-58 for a couple of reasons.

1. Once upgrades at Hinkley and Kramer Junction are completed, the entire route from Bakersfield to Barstow will be a divided 4-lane highway but there remains some portions that have at-grade intersections.  Those would need to be eliminated.

2. Exit numbering would need to be completely overhauled since the western terminus would move from Barstow to Bakersfield (or beyond) unless Caltrans introduces negative exit numbers (-1, -2, etc).

[kkt]

California has AADT counts online.  CA 58's AADT is in the 18000-20000 range west of CA 14 and 10000-12000 east of US 395.  Truck percentage in the 30% to 38% range, peaking at 48% at the intersection with US 395.  That's a lot of trucks, more than I even expected and definitely warrants an interstate IMHO.

58 to 40 functions as the all-weather outlet for trucks to/from the S.F. Bay Area, Sacramento, and central valley produce.
Some go over Donner Pass (I-80) but it takes more gas going up the hill and there's the risk of delays due to closure.

[Quillz]

Bring back the 466!

...But seriously, I have been using the 14->58 corridor as an alternative to taking the 101->134->210->15 to reach Barstow (and Vegas), and I'm finding it faster. Less congestion, and the majority of the 58 being up to freeway standards now.

[andy3175]

Update on the Centennial Corridor, now pegged at a cost of $306 million to construct Alternative B:

http://www.bakersfield.com/news/2016/03/03/city-beat-the-latest-scoop-on-municipal-government-14.html

Public Works Director Nick Fidler told the Bakersfield City Council on Wednesday about demolitions to make way for Centennial Corridor.

Centennial Corridor is the Caltrans-approved freeway link between Highway 58 and the Westside Parkway.

To date, Bakersfield has purchased 147 of 199 single-family homes it needs to build the freeway; eight of nine multi-family homes such as apartment buildings; and nine of 18 commercial and industrial properties.

Fidler said in an interview demolitions won't start happening until later this year but Bakersfield will start looking for a contractor very soon.

"We'll start advertising the project, I would assume, next week,"  Fidler said, referring to an invitation for contractors to bid.

Don Anderson, Bakersfield's real property manager, said vacant properties will be demolished first – but in groupings, to make the process as efficient as possible.

The first two buildings to come down will be an office building at 3403 Stockdale Highway and a vacant apartment building at 25 Williamson Way where police and code enforcement have visited 13 times in six months.

[mgk920]

Update on the Centennial Corridor, now pegged at a cost of $306 million to construct Alternative B:

http://www.bakersfield.com/news/2016/03/03/city-beat-the-latest-scoop-on-municipal-government-14.html

Public Works Director Nick Fidler told the Bakersfield City Council on Wednesday about demolitions to make way for Centennial Corridor.

Centennial Corridor is the Caltrans-approved freeway link between Highway 58 and the Westside Parkway.

To date, Bakersfield has purchased 147 of 199 single-family homes it needs to build the freeway; eight of nine multi-family homes such as apartment buildings; and nine of 18 commercial and industrial properties.

Fidler said in an interview demolitions won’t start happening until later this year but Bakersfield will start looking for a contractor very soon.

“We’ll start advertising the project, I would assume, next week,” Fidler said, referring to an invitation for contractors to bid.

Don Anderson, Bakersfield’s real property manager, said vacant properties will be demolished first — but in groupings, to make the process as efficient as possible.

The first two buildings to come down will be an office building at 3403 Stockdale Highway and a vacant apartment building at 25 Williamson Way where police and code enforcement have visited 13 times in six months.

I still find this to be fascinating, an approved and under way new-ROW urban freeway project requiring the mass acquisition and demolition of an intact city neighborhood.  Aside from the not yet approved I-49 between I-20 and I-220 in Shreveport, LA (unlike in Bakersfield, this one is proposed to pass through a severely blighted area), when was the last time that something like this was done anywhere in the USA?

Mike

[Chris]

The current CA-4 extension in Stockton also included a new right-of-way through a built-up area. The Grand Parkway (SH 99) around Houston also ran through an existing neighborhood with trailer homes.

[coatimundi]

I find it interesting to compare and contrast this project with the failed I-105 extension to its parent. I think there are factors that lead toward why one would be developed and the other not, like demographics, timing (I don't think 58 would have gone through during the housing boom which has written much of Bakersfield's recent history), location, and importance to the system as a whole. I think you could write a whole thesis on why one is happening and the other didn't and never will.

This has probably already been mentioned, but will CA 58 be rerouted onto Stockdale Highway once this is done? I'm curious because, having driven both Rosedale and Stockdale Highways, I don't know that the latter is up to state highway standards.

[Max Rockatansky]

I find it interesting to compare and contrast this project with the failed I-105 extension to its parent. I think there are factors that lead toward why one would be developed and the other not, like demographics, timing (I don't think 58 would have gone through during the housing boom which has written much of Bakersfield's recent history), location, and importance to the system as a whole. I think you could write a whole thesis on why one is happening and the other didn't and never will.

This has probably already been mentioned, but will CA 58 be rerouted onto Stockdale Highway once this is done? I'm curious because, having driven both Rosedale and Stockdale Highways, I don't know that the latter is up to state highway standards.

Supposedly it will as far as I-5 and I guess that 58 is going to multiplex up to it's current alignment?  Caltrans is pretty big on getting that gap to I-5 and CA 99 closed with a freeway, I can't imagine Stockdale Highway is going to be in it's current form very long once the 99 gap is finished.

[Rover_0]

California has AADT counts online.  CA 58's AADT is in the 18000-20000 range west of CA 14 and 10000-12000 east of US 395.  Truck percentage in the 30% to 38% range, peaking at 48% at the intersection with US 395.  That's a lot of trucks, more than I even expected and definitely warrants an interstate IMHO.

58 to 40 functions as the all-weather outlet for trucks to/from the S.F. Bay Area, Sacramento, and central valley produce.
Some go over Donner Pass (I-80) but it takes more gas going up the hill and there's the risk of delays due to closure.

Agreed, but as many of us (myself included) have stated before, a good consolation for an I-40 extension is to just renumber CA-58 as CA-40 for the sake of continuity.

[Henry]

I find it interesting to compare and contrast this project with the failed I-105 extension to its parent. I think there are factors that lead toward why one would be developed and the other not, like demographics, timing (I don't think 58 would have gone through during the housing boom which has written much of Bakersfield's recent history), location, and importance to the system as a whole. I think you could write a whole thesis on why one is happening and the other didn't and never will.

This has probably already been mentioned, but will CA 58 be rerouted onto Stockdale Highway once this is done? I'm curious because, having driven both Rosedale and Stockdale Highways, I don't know that the latter is up to state highway standards.

Supposedly it will as far as I-5 and I guess that 58 is going to multiplex up to it's current alignment?  Caltrans is pretty big on getting that gap to I-5 and CA 99 closed with a freeway, I can't imagine Stockdale Highway is going to be in it's current form very long once the 99 gap is finished.

California has AADT counts online.  CA 58's AADT is in the 18000-20000 range west of CA 14 and 10000-12000 east of US 395.  Truck percentage in the 30% to 38% range, peaking at 48% at the intersection with US 395.  That's a lot of trucks, more than I even expected and definitely warrants an interstate IMHO.

58 to 40 functions as the all-weather outlet for trucks to/from the S.F. Bay Area, Sacramento, and central valley produce.
Some go over Donner Pass (I-80) but it takes more gas going up the hill and there's the risk of delays due to closure.

Agreed, but as many of us (myself included) have stated before, a good consolation for an I-40 extension is to just renumber CA-58 as CA-40 for the sake of continuity.

Yes, I think that it would be a good way to go.

[roadfro]

58 to 40 functions as the all-weather outlet for trucks to/from the S.F. Bay Area, Sacramento, and central valley produce.
Some go over Donner Pass (I-80) but it takes more gas going up the hill and there's the risk of delays due to closure.

Agreed, but as many of us (myself included) have stated before, a good consolation for an I-40 extension is to just renumber CA-58 as CA-40 for the sake of continuity.

Yes, I think that it would be a good way to go.

Could be a good way to go. But it's not a route number continuity issue as things stand now, since 58 & 40 do not form a continuous highway mainline at I-15.

[mrsman]

58 to 40 functions as the all-weather outlet for trucks to/from the S.F. Bay Area, Sacramento, and central valley produce.
Some go over Donner Pass (I-80) but it takes more gas going up the hill and there's the risk of delays due to closure.

Agreed, but as many of us (myself included) have stated before, a good consolation for an I-40 extension is to just renumber CA-58 as CA-40 for the sake of continuity.

Yes, I think that it would be a good way to go.

Could be a good way to go. But it's not a route number continuity issue as things stand now, since 58 & 40 do not form a continuous highway mainline at I-15.

And the two routes were never a continuation of the same number.  In pre-freeway days, there were 3 highways going through Barstow:

US 66:  Needles - Barstow - San Bernardino
US 466:  Las Vegas - Barstow - Bakersfield
US 91: Las Vegas - Barstow - San Bernardino

Through town, US 66 followed what you now see on Google Maps as being: "National Trails Highway", the I-40 ROW, and Main Street through central Barstow.  US 466 followed a parallel alignment following "Yermo Rd", the I-15 ROW, and "Old Hwy 58".  The roadway passed through North Barstow.  It was parallel and came within 1/2 mile of US 66, but never intersected with it.  US 91 followed the US 466 routing, turned on 1st Ave, and then turned on Main Street to continue to San Bernardino.

Of course, maps that weren't so fine tuned showed US 466 as following US 66's east-west trajectory to reach Bakersfield, as US 66 turned to the southwest to reach San Bernardino, but there never was any such grand intersection like this.  People would definitely make the connection by using 1st Ave, though, as the family in "Grapes of Wrath" and other "Okies" of course made this connection.

Even in the more modern era, I-40 does not have a direct exit to I-15 north.  So one could not travel from I-40 to old  CA-58 without encountering a stoplight until the modern CA-58 expressway was completed.  Of course now with the modern 58, it's possible and if the rest of 58 were upgraded to a freeway, there would be no problem with extending I-40 to reach I-5.  (With a short multiplex at I-15.)

But there is no rush right now.