- CalTrans approved a total $257 million project to make necessary improvements to popular Highway 58
- Included in that funding is a plan to expand the highway and construct a truck climbing lane, easing traffic and making it safer for drivers
- CalTrans is in the designing phase, with construction set to begin in 2026
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Highway 58 is one of the most popular trucking routes in California, and now, new funding approved by CalTrans is going to help make it safer for all travelers.
A project decades in the making.
Highway 58 is a major east-to-west highway, popular for both commuters and truck drivers.
Tehachapi Councilmember Phil Smith has been driving this road improvement project since the turn of the century after CalTrans identified the need for truck climbing lanes along Highway 58.
That was more than 20 years ago.
As a member of the Kern Council of Governments since 1994, Smith says he has folders of reports cataloging just how long he's been working to get this project funded and started.
"For over 20 years, just keeping it in the focus so people know do not forget Highway 58," says Smith.
Tehachapi has a large commuter population, with about 65% of people commuting out of the city each day, according to city officials.
With the current highway only having two lanes of travel on a steep grade, traveling eastbound can get clogged up fast.
The $257 million project will focus first on phase one: constructing a three-and-a-half-mile truck climbing lane that will begin just east of Route 223 and run up to about three miles east of Broome Road.
"It's the steepest section of the grade, and it's also the windiest section of the grade. So it is the one most frequently associated with truck slow-downs," explains Tehachapi Development Services Director Jay Schlosser.
The plan also includes money for roadway repairs.
"It's a complete re-pave of about 11 miles of the road and they're going to be changing the geometry of the road to fix a few places where they consistently have vehicles heading off of the road," says Schlosser.
The steep grade combined with the number of large trucks on the road make it dangerous in certain traffic conditions.
"Last year alone, we had four fatalities of truck drivers in this segment, and so that's what really begins to rise on the list of importance for the state," Schlosser shared.
The main focus of the project is to increase the safety for every driver.
"It'll be very significant and the reason why is because you're not going to be driving 50 miles an hour up the road and then have to slow down for a 25-mile-per-hour truck, they'll have their own climbing lane to go around slower vehicles. It'll ease congestion and create a safer travel way for everybody who travels 58," says Senator Shannon Grove.
The project finally having momentum after a large collaboration of agencies is satisfying for Phil Smith.
"I've seen, from small to where we are now, and I'm just delighted that we're going to get it done," says Smith.
Right now, CalTrans is in the designing phase of the project, and construction is set to begin in spring 2026.
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