Kern County’s transportation system was quoted as the “unseen industry.”Crisis at the Crossroads. Kern Transportation Foundation. Produced by: White Bear Enterprises, 2008. 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.Report for SR-58 Origiand Destination Truck Study . KernCOG. Page 7, 9. Retrieved April 26, 2010.

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/Westside Parkway* - 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.Southeast Kern County Regional Fee Nexus Study . KernCOG. July 14, 2004. Page 10. Accessed:04-26-2010. The California Legislator gave the same name to the Barstow Freeway (I-15) between San Bernardino and the Nevada state line.2008 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California. State of California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. 2008. Page 17. Retrieved April 26, 2010.

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.State Route 178 Transportation Concept Report. Caltrans:District 9. May 2006. Page 1. Retrieved April 26, 2010. Since the detour route is about 100 miles, and requires travel on SR 58, the route can not be considered an alternate route.

Local Midland Trail McKittrick Highway Garces Highway Maricopa Highway Kern Canyon Road Weedpatch Highway Valley Boulevard Golden State Highway Bear Mountain Boulevard Three Flags Highway

Intercity rail

Kern County is served by Union Pacific and BNSF; both are class-1 railroads. Both railroads parallel each other north of Bakersfield through the San Joaquin Valley. Within the county, Union Pacific follows SR 99, while BNSF follows SR 43. The distance between the two railroads average about 16 miles. South of Bakersfield, both railroads must use the route over the Tehachapi Mountains. This route is owned by Union Pacific, but BNSF has trackage rights over it.System Map. BNSF. Retrieved April 26, 2010. This segment is the busiest single line route in the world.Home Page . Tehachapi Rail. Retrieved April 26, 2010

Regional service is provided by the San Joaquin Valley Railroad, which was purchased by RailAmerica. It provides service between Bakersfield and agricultural centers of Arvin, Buttonwillow, and Lamont.SJVR. RailAmerica. Retrieved April 26, 2010. At one time, a railroad line connected Bakersfield and the oil rich City of Taft, known as the Sunset Railway. However, the construction of oil pipelines and equipment being hauled by trucks resulted in the removal of the route.

Passenger service is provided exclusively by the Gold Runner, run by Amtrak California. North of Bakersfield the train uses the BNSF route through the valley. The line terminates in Bakersfield, where passengers transfer to one of five Amtrak Thruway bus routes. They travel to, among other places, the Central Coast, Los Angeles Basin (with connections to other trains at Los Angeles Union Station), Mojave Desert, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Palm Springs, California.San Joaquin Timetable. Amtrak. Effective date: October 26, 2009. High level of demand through the Tehachapi Pass has prevented any rail service from extending south of Bakersfield.

California High-Speed Rail plans to have a station in Bakersfield, which will serve the southern San Joaquin Valley region. This project will link Kern County with Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, and San Diego by high-speed trains. The desert communities in eastern Kern County will be served by the Palmdale station in Los Angeles County.Interactive Rail Map . California High Speed Rail Authority. Retrieved April 26, 2010.

Air transportation

The primary airport used for the transportation of passengers and goods is Meadows Field in Bakersfield. Several industrial complexes are located around the airport for easy transportation of goods from warehouses to airplanes. More industrial complexes are planned in the future.

Passenger travel is relatively light at the airport. Domestic flights are run out of the William M. Thomas Terminal, constructed in 2006.About Us . County of Kern:Meadows Field. Retrieved April 26, 2010. There is also an international terminal located at the old terminal building. Originally flights were flown between Bakersfield and Mexico; however, the terminal closed when the air carrier discontinued service.Hopes for the New Airport Terminal Grounded. Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved April 26, 2010.

In addition to Meadows Field, there are a multitude of regional airports throughout the county. Most notably is Mojave Air and Spaceport. This is the only civilian spaceport in the nation. Spaceship One, the first civilian reusable spaceship, was launched from there. Several companies based out of Mojave are currently developing private spaceships from the airport, including the successor to Spaceship One, logically called Spaceship Two.

Bus transportation Regional transportation is provided by Kern Regional Transit. It connects Bakersfield with the different regions of Kern County. These are western San Joaquin Valley, eastern San Joaquin Valley, Mojave Desert, Kern River Valley, and Tejon mountain region. In addition, regional service is provided within the Kern River Valley, Mojave Desert, and Tejon mountain region. Within Bakersfield, primary hubs are located at the Bakersfield Amtrak station and the GET (Golden Empire Transit) downtown transit center.Kern Regional Transit Schedule. Kern County Roads. Retrieved April 29, 2010.

Amtrak Thruway buses provide daily connections to Los Angeles Union Station.

In addition, Taft Area Transit (TAT) provides regional service between Maricopa and Taft. It also provides local service throughout the city of Taft on two routes.Taft Area Transit. City of Taft. Retrieved April 29, 2010.

Other bus operators include: Arvin Transit is the local municipal bus operator in and around Arvin. Delano Area Rapid Transit is the local municipal bus operator in Delano. Golden Empire Transit is the local bus operator in and near Bakersfield.

Private regional bus service is provided by Greyhound and Orange Belt Stage. Both bus companies depart from the Greyhound bus terminal located in downtown.Bakersfield, CA. Greyhound Bus Lines. Retrieved April 29, 2010.Orange Belt Stage Schedules & Fares. Orange Belt Stage. Retrieved April 29, 2010.

Airport Valet Express, located at Stockdale Hwy. and New Stine Road, formerly provided service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), but has since ceased service.

By taxi Bakersfield (661) 374-2227 Lake Isabella (760) 384-2424 Ridgecrest (760) 384-2424 Rosamond (661) 256-2227 Tehachapi (661) 771-2227

Greater Bakersfield Similar to the county, the city also has a transportation network to facilitate the movement of goods both through and terminating in it.

Intracity highways

Bakersfield is served by three major freeways and two minor freeways. State Route 99 is the north–south route, running through the entire length of the city, just east of downtown. It is also the mainline connecting Bakersfield with interstate routes in Sacramento and Los Angeles. State Route 178 connects east and northeast Bakersfield with downtown. However, it ends at the east end of downtown, approximately 1.5 miles from SR 99. State Route 58 is the mainline connecting Bakersfield with Interstates 15 and 40, which are major routes that serve the rest of the country. Since the route mostly travels along the southern edge of the city, it generally does not see as much intracity traffic as SR 99 and SR 178.

Currently there is no state-maintained freeway in west Bakersfield. However, the Westside Parkway is currently being constructed parallel to Stockdale Highway and the Kern River as a local freeway (built to Caltrans standards). The Centennial Corridor project (which the Westside Parkway is a part of) will connect the freeway to SR 58, creating the first continuous east–west freeway to span the width of Bakersfield. Eventually, the freeway will be extended west to I-5.

Bakersfield is also served by two minor freeways. State Route 204 (Golden State Avenue) is built as a four-lane freeway from SR 99 to F Street, a length of about 1.4 miles. This provides an alternate route for traffic from SR 178 and downtown to northwest Bakersfield and SR 99 north. The other freeway is Alfred Harrell Highway, which connects northeast Bakersfield to Hart Park and the rest of the Kern River County Park. Additional right of way was reserved to extend the freeway east to SR 178, but there are currently no plans for construction.

Intracity rail