Kern County’s transportation system was quoted as the “unseen industry.” Located at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, the county is at a prime location to ship goods west to the central coast, south to ports in Los Angeles, and east to corridors that connect to the rest of the country. It is also on major corridors that link to all northern points.
Intercity Highways
Kern County is served by a large network of highways, expressways and freeways. It is easier to break the network down into three categories: primary, alternate, and local. It is also easier to view Bakersfield as the center of the transportation network, and the routes traveling away from that point. They are listed below, with the names either officially designated by the state, or commonly used by local authorities and Caltrans.
Primary routes are the mainline highways connecting Bakersfield with major destinations and other major transportation infrastructure. Alternate routes are other routes that connect major destinations and other major transportation infrastructure, but do not require travel on the primary route. The exception is SR 58 (Mojave Freeway), which is a primary route and part of the alternate route to I-5 (Golden State Freeway). The reason is SR 58 and SR 14 are both mostly freeways and are capable of handling large semi-trucks. Local routes are the remaining state routes. They primarily connect local roads and rural communities to primary and alternate routes.
Although Kern County is located at the center of an important interstate highway system, it is only served by one interstate (I-5). Ironically this interstate bypasses many important transportation hubs and connectors in the valley, currently served by state routes (SR 99 and SR 58). This includes the two largest cities not served by an interstate, which are Fresno and Bakersfield. Efforts have been made for inclusion of the other two routes into the interstate system. SR 99 has been designated a NHS future interstate, which would either be number I-7 or I-9. Currently Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration are negotiating what needs to be upgraded to conform to interstate standards. SR 58 is currently being converted to a freeway, but has not been submitted for future interstate status. If adopted, it would be an extension of I-40 which currently terminates in Barstow, CA. Currently about 65% of truck traffic which use the route does cross the California state line.
Primary
* denotes freeway
Westside Freeway* - north to San Francisco/Sacramento/California state line
Golden State Freeway* - north to Fresno/Sacramento, south to Los Angeles
State Route 41 - north to Fresno/Yosemite, south to Central Coast
Paso Robles Highway - west to Central Coast
Mojave Freeway* - east to I-15/I-40 in Barstow
Note: The Mojave Freeway (State Route 58) should not be confused with Interstate 15. In Kern County, The Mojave Freeway name is used by local authorities and Caltrans to refer to SR 58 between Bakersfield and Barstow. The California Legislator gave the same name to the Barstow Freeway (I-15) between San Bernardino and the Nevada state line.
Alternate
* denotes freeway
Antelope Valley Freeway/Mojave Freeway* - alt. to I-5 (Golden State Freeway) south Westside Highway - alt. to I-5 (Westside Freeway/Golden State Freeway) north and south Central Valley Highway - alt. to SR 99 (Golden State Freeway) north Porterville Highway - alt. to SR 99 (Golden State Freeway) north Taft Highway/Cuyama Highway - alt. to SR 46 (Paso Robles Highway) west
Note: There is a gap in the primary/alternate route network. SR 178 should be the alternate route to SR 58. However, there is currently an approximately 14-mile gap in the highway in Kern, San Bernardino, and Inyo counties. Since the detour route is about 100 miles, and requires travel on SR 58, the route can not be considered an alternate route.