State Route 223 (SR 223), locally known as Bear Mountain Boulevard, is a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in the
U.S. state of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
that runs west to east through the agricultural land south of
Bakersfield
Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
in
Kern County. Running from
Interstate 5 (I-5) to
State Route 58
The following highways are numbered 58:
International
* European route E58
Australia
* Riverina Highway
Canada
* Alberta Highway 58
* Highway 58 (Ontario)
* Saskatchewan Highway 58
Finland
* Finnish national road 58
India
* National Highw ...
near the city of
Arvin
Arvin is a city in Kern County, California. Arvin is located southeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of . As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,304, up from 12,956 at the 2000 census.
In 2007, the United States Environmental Protec ...
, it also intersects with
State Route 99
International
* European route E99
Australia
* Springbrook Road, Queensland
Canada
* British Columbia Highway 99
* Ontario Highway 99 (former)
* Saskatchewan Highway 99
China
* G99 Expressway
India
* National Highway 99 (India)
I ...
near
Greenfield
Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to:
Engineering and Business
* Greenfield agreement, an employment agreement for a new organisation
* Greenfield investment, the investment in a structure in an area where no previous facilities exist
* Greenf ...
. SR 223 forms a truck route for transporting goods to the three main corridors in the area, I-5, SR 58 and SR 99, without having to drive through Bakersfield.
Route description
State Route 223 begins at Interstate 5. From there it travels east through relatively flat agricultural land. It crosses SR 99 and Union Avenue (SR 99 Business). It then crosses Weedpatch Highway (SR 184)/Wheeler Ridge Road, which is the local north-south highway serving the region. Continuing east, it crosses through the only city served by the route, the agricultural community of Arvin. It continues through agricultural land, before reaching the eastern end of the San Joaquin Valley. The terrain changes to rolling hills, as the road climbs the Tehachapi Mountains. The highway terminates at SR 58.
A portion of SR 223 near SR 99 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 ...
.
History
Bear Mountain Boulevard was constructed in 1915, as the bypass to White Wolf Road to the south; the road still exists, but is on private property. It is not known when White Wolf Road was constructed. The road was a part of the
Midway Route
Midway often refers to:
*Midway (fair), a place at a fair or circus where rides, entertainment, and booths are concentrated
*Midway Atoll, also called Midway Island, a low-lying coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean
*Naval Air Facility Midway Is ...
, which was the most direct route between the
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...
and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
via
Tehachapi Pass
Tehachapi Pass (Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") is a mountain pass crossing the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, California. Traditionally, the pass marks the northeast end of the Tehachapis and the south end of the Sierra Neva ...
and 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 ...
. After the
Ridge Route was constructed in 1915, the Midway Route was still important as the primary bypass to the newly constructed highway. Bear Mountain Boulevard served as part of the Midway Route until 1933, when Bena Road was constructed to provide a more direct connection to Bakersfield. Today, the Midway Route is served by SR 58 and SR 14.
In 1933, Bear Mountain Boulevard was adopted as an unsigned state highway. It was a part of
Legislative Route
In the United States, a legislative route (LR) or legislative highway is a highway defined by laws passed in a state legislature. The numbering of such highways may or may not correspond to the numbers familiar to the public as part of the state, ...
140, which ran from
Taft to
US 99
U.S. Route 99 (US 99) was a main north–south United States Numbered Highway on the West Coast of the United States until 1964, running from Calexico, California, on the US–Mexico border to Blaine, Washington, on the U.S.-Canada borde ...
(locally known as Taft Highway), and from US 99 to
US 466. The Taft Highway portion was signed as
US 399, but the Bear Mountain Boulevard section was unsigned. It was dropped from the route in 1959, and became Legislative Route 264. In 1964, with the renumbering of California’s state routes, Bear Mountain Boulevard became a signed route as SR 223, and was extended west to I-5.
Route 217-224
CAHighway.org. Accessed: 11-05-2009.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
{{commonscat
Caltrans: Route 223 highway conditions
223
__NOTOC__
Year 223 ( CCXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Aelianus (or, less frequently, year 976 ' ...
State Route 223