Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

in the United States, stretching from

Barstow, California Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 census. Barstow is an important crossroads for the In ...

, to

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

. The segment of I-40 in California is sometimes called the Needles Freeway. It goes east from its western terminus at I-15 in Barstow across the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

past the

Clipper Mountains The Clipper Mountains are located in the eastern Mojave Desert and protected within Mojave Trails National Monument, in San Bernardino County, California. Geography The range parallels and is just south of Interstate 40 and the Clipper Valley, b ...

to Needles, before it crosses over the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

into

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

east of Needles. All of I-40 in California are in San Bernardino County.

Route description

I-40 goes through the

on the entirety of its run through California. The highway starts its eastward journey at a junction with I-15 in Barstow. The freeway passes through

Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow is a United States Marine Corps supply and maintenance installation located in the Mojave Desert east of Barstow, in San Bernardino County, Southern California. Its mission is to rebuild and repair ground-comb ...

before leaving the city limits. I-40 provides access to the town of Daggett but passes south of the town. After passing south of the

Barstow-Daggett Airport Barstow-Daggett Airport is a county-owned public airport in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is five miles (7 km) east of Daggett and 14 miles east of Barstow. Built in 1933, it is the oldest of the six airports opera ...

, I-40 goes through

Newberry Springs Newberry Springs is an unincorporated community in the western Mojave Desert of Southern California, located at the foot of the Newberry Mountains in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Newberry Spring is a spring that in the 19t ...

and

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...

before traveling along the south end of

Mojave National Preserve Mojave National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, USA, between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The preserve was established October 31, 1994, with the passage of ...

. Several miles east of the preserve, I-40 intersects U.S. Route 95 (US 95), and the two highways run concurrently into the city of Needles. In Needles, US 95 continues south while I-40 continues east through

and across the

into

. The maximum speed limit for the entire California segment of I-40 is . I-40 is part of the

California Freeway and Expressway System The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses both State highways and federal highways in California. It is defined by Article 2 (commenci ...

and 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 The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

. I-40 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System, but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the

California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...

. I-40 from I-15 to the Arizona state line is known as the Needles Freeway, as named by Senate Concurrent Resolution 1 in 1968.

History

In 1957, the California Department of Highways proposed that the route be numbered as I-30 because of the already existing US 40 in the state. However, this was rejected, and, eventually, US 40 was decommissioned in favor of

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

. Today, the Needles Freeway replaced the former US 66 across the Mojave Desert. As a result, a number of communities along the former route, like

Amboy Amboy may refer to: Places * Amboy, Córdoba, village in Calamuchita Department, Córdoba province, Argentina United States * Amboy Crater, feature in Mojave National Preserve, California Settled U.S. places * Amboy, California * Amboy, Ge ...

, have become

ghost-town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by Alle ...

s. In the early 1960s, a proposal as part of

Project Plowshare Project Plowshare was the overall United States program for the development of techniques to use nuclear explosives for peaceful construction purposes. The program was organized in June 1957 as part of the worldwide Atoms for Peace efforts. As ...

would have detonated 22 nuclear explosions to excavate a massive roadcut through the

Bristol Mountains The Bristol Mountains are found in the Mojave Desert of California, USA, just west of Mojave National Preserve. The range, which reaches an elevation of 3,874 feet (1,181 m), is located in San Bernardino County, and crosses Interstate 40 between L ...

to accommodate a better alignment of I-40 and a new rail line. This proposal was definitively abandoned in 1968. A sign in California showing the distance to

, has been stolen several times.

Exit list

Related routes

California does not have any auxiliary Interstate Highways associated with I-40. There is one I-40 business loop in Needles, providing access to downtown Needles as Broadway (Historic Route 66). As such, it also follows the former routing of US 66.

References

External links