Interstate 40 in California

Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Barstow, California, to Wilmington, North Carolina. The segment of I-40 in California is sometimes called the Needles Freeway. It goes east from its western terminus at Interstate 15 in Barstow across the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County past the Clipper Mountains to Needles, before it crosses over the Colorado River into Arizona east of Needles. All 155 miles (249 km) of I-40 in California are in San Bernardino County.

This article is about the section of Interstate 40 in California. For the entire route, see Interstate 40.

Interstate 40
Needles Freeway
I-40 highlighted in red
Route information
Defined by Streets and Highways Code § 340
Maintained by Caltrans
Length154.640 mi[1] (248.869 km)
Existed1964 (1964)–present
Major junctions
West end I-15 in Barstow
  US 95 in Needles
East end I-40 at the Arizona state line near Topock, AZ
Location
CountiesSan Bernardino
Highway system
← SR 39→ SR 41

Route description

Interstate 40 goes through the Mojave Desert on its entire journey through California. I-40 starts out at a junction with Interstate 15 in Barstow. The freeway passes through Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow 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, I-40 goes through Newberry Springs and Ludlow before traveling along the south end of Mojave National Preserve. Several miles east of the preserve, I-40 intersects 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 Mojave National Preserve and across the Colorado River into Arizona.[2] The maximum speed limit for the entire California segment of Interstate 40 is 70 mph (110 km/h).

I-40 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,[3] and is part of the National Highway System,[4] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[5] I-40 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System,[6] but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.[7] Interstate 40 from Interstate 15 to the Arizona State Line is known as the Needles Freeway, as named by Senate Concurrent Resolution 1 in 1968.[8]

History

In 1957, the California Department of Highways proposed that the route be numbered as I-30 because of the already existing U.S. Route 40 in the state. However, this was rejected, and eventually US 40 was decommissioned in favor of I-80.

Today, the Needles Freeway replaced the former Route 66 across the Mojave Desert. As a result, a number of communities along the former route like Amboy have become ghost towns.[9]

In the early 1960s, a proposal as part of Project Plowshare would have detonated 22 nuclear explosions to excavate a massive roadcut through the Bristol Mountains to accommodate a better alignment of Interstate 40 and a new rail line. This proposal was definitively abandoned in 1968.[10][11]

A sign in California showing the distance to Wilmington, North Carolina has been stolen several times.[12]

Former mileage sign at start of Interstate 40 in Barstow, California

Future

The State of California submitted the segment of what is now State Route 58 between Barstow and Bakersfield for chargeable Interstate approval twice, in 1956 and 1968, presumably as an extension of I-40, but it was rejected both times. As a result of these rejections, this segment of SR 58 is being upgraded to freeway standards piece-by-piece as Caltrans has funds available.[13] Between Bakersfield and Barstow, SR 58 exists mostly as a four- to six-lane freeway with a few exceptions: a 12-mile (19 km) section from Mojave to California City is four lanes with at-grade intersections, and a 27-mile (43 km) four-lane section with at-grade crossings between the Kramer Junction and Hinkley bypasses. Caltrans completed an Interstate-grade bypass around Hinkley and a similar bypass around Kramer Junction (to bypass the two-lane bottleneck at an intersection with US 395). The bypass was opened to traffic on October 24, 2019.[14]

An extension of I-40 in California from its present western terminus in Barstow to Bakersfield, and possibly as far west as Paso Robles, has been proposed. The proposed I-40 extension would generally follow SR 58 to Bakersfield and then follow SR 46 to Paso Robles,[15] although there is no current push to apply for Interstate designation. However, SR 46 is slowly being upgraded to Interstate standards, minus overpasses, from US 101 in Paso Robles to I-5 in Lost Hills. This would lead I-40 across two major mountain ranges, the Tehachapi Mountains and Sierra Nevada, and possibly the Diablo Range as well.

Exit list

The entire route is in San Bernardino County.

Locationmi[1]kmExit[1]DestinationsNotes
Barstow0.000.00 I-15 south to SR 58 west – San BernardinoNo direct access to I-15 north; exit 184A on I-15
0.791.271 Montara Road to CR 66 westEastbound signage
East Main Street (I-15 Bus. / CR 66 west) to I-15 north – Las VegasWestbound signage; west end of CR 66 overlap; former US 66
2.353.782Marine Corps Logistics Base
4.717.585Nebo Street (CR 66)East end of CR 66 overlap; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Daggett7.1811.567A Street – Daggett
​12.1919.6212Airport Road – Barstow-Daggett Airport
Newberry Springs18.4529.6918National Trails Highway (CR 66) - Newberry SpringsFormer US 66
​23.3337.5523Fort Cady Road – Newberry Springs
​28.5045.87Desert Oasis Rest Area
​32.5052.3033Hector Road
Ludlow49.9880.4450Ludlow (CR 66)
​78.17125.8078Kelbaker Road
​99.73160.50100Essex Road – Essex
​106.94172.10John Wilkie Rest Area - Fenner
Fenner107.17172.47107Goffs Road (CR 66) - EssexFormer US 66
​115.19185.38115Mountain Springs Roadformer US 66 west
​119.97193.07120Water Road
​132.73213.61133 US 95 north (CR 66 west) – Searchlight, Las VegasWest end of US 95 / CR 66 overlap
Needles139.11223.88139River Road Cutoff (CR 66 east)Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; east end of CR 66 overlap
141.01226.93141West Broadway (I-40 Bus. east / CR 66) / River Roadformer US 66
142.37229.12142J Street – Downtown
143.76231.36144 US 95 south (East Broadway / I-40 Bus. west / CR 66) – BlytheEast end of US 95 overlap; former US 66
​148.19238.49148 Five Mile Road (CR 66 west) to US 95 south – BlytheFormer US 66
​149.10239.95Agricultural Inspection Station (westbound)
​153.31246.73153Park Moabi Road
Colorado River154.64248.87California–Arizona line
I-40 east – KingmanContinuation into Arizona
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Needles business loop

Interstate 40 Business
LocationNeedles, California

Interstate 40 Business is a business loop in Needles. It provides access to downtown Needles as Broadway Street. It also follows the former routing of US 66.

See also
  •  California Roads portal

References
  1. Warring, KS (January 8, 2008). "Interstate 40 Freeway Interchanges" (PDF). California Numbered Exit Uniform System. California Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 5, 2009.
  2. San Bernardino County Street Atlas (Map). Thomas Brothers. 2008.
  3. "Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  4. Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: California (South) (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  5. Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  6. "Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets & Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  7. California Department of Transportation (August 2019). "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways" (XLSX). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  8. California Department of Transportation; California State Transportation Agency (January 2015). 2014 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California. Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. p. 40. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  9. Anton, Mike (January 17, 2007). "Destiny in the desert". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  10. "Project Carryall Marker". Hmdb.org. January 9, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  11. "Preliminary Design Studies In A Nuclear Excavation: Project Carryall". Trb Publications Index. July 26, 1994. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  12. "I-40 Barstow, Calif., sign gone for good". Star-News. November 13, 2009. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
  13. Burger, James (January 27, 2008). "Highway 58's dead-end issue may come alive". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  14. "New segment of State Route 58 opens near Kramer Junction". Mojave Desert News. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  15. Subcommittee on Roads of the Committee on Public Works (April 15, 1970). "Report on the Status of the Federal-Aid Highway Program" (Hearing). United States Senate. p. 89. Retrieved June 10, 2016 – via HathiTrust. Buttonwillow via Bakersfield to Barstow

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Interstate 40
Previous state:
Terminus		 California Next state:
Arizona
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