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
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 10 mi 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, and east of I-5 is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. SR 58 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System, but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation. 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. The portion of SR 58 from Barstow to Bakersfield is sometimes referred to as the Barstow–Bakersfield Highway.

History


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 c. 2000. The former eastern terminus is now known as "Old Highway 58".

Freeway bypasses in Tehachapi, Boron, Mojave, Hinkley, and Kramer Junction were completed in c. 1975, 1981, 2003, 2017, and 2020, respectively.

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. 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, by September 2017, all but a few buildings in the path had been demolished.

On February 5, 2021, the city transferred the Westside Parkway to Caltrans and California Highway Patrol jurisdiction. 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. 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.

The Centennial Corridor was inaugurated on February 9, 2024, with a ceremonial bicycle ride, and officially opened to traffic on February 17, 2024, with some connections between SR 58 and SR 99 remaining closed. The rest of SR 58 on Rosedale Highway between Mohawk Street and SR 99 is planned to be transferred to city control. Future plans are to upgrade Stockdale Highway from I-5 to Heath Road as a freeway.

Mojave
State Route 58 Business (SR 58 Bus.) is a business route of California State Route 58 in Mojave. It provides access to downtown Mojave as Mojave-Barstow Highway. It also follows mostly the former routing of U.S. Route 466.

Tehachapi
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.

Boron
State Route 58 Business (SR 58 Bus.) is a business route of California State Route 58 in Boron. 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 westbound Route 58 approaching the San Bernardino–Kern county line and the beginning of the Boron bypass.

Major intersections
Exits on the Westside Parkway segment are currently unnumbered.