California State Route 178

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State Route 178
Defined by S&HC § 478, maintained by Caltrans
Length:	166.81 mi[1] (268 km)
West end:	SR 58 / SR 99 in Bakersfield
Major junctions:	US 395 near Ridgecrest Trona Rd. near Trona Death Valley SR 127 at Shoshone
East end:	SR 372 towards Pahrump, NV
State highways in California (list - pre-1964) County routes in California (list) < SR 177 SR 180 > History - Unconstructed - Deleted - Freeway - Scenic

State Route 178 (SR 178) is a route that exists in two constructed segments. The gap in between segments is connected by various local roads and State Route 190 through Death Valley National Park.

This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System^[2] and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System^[3].

Contents 1 Route description 1.1 Western segment 1.2 Eastern segment 2 Major intersections and exit list 3 References 4 Images along SR178 5 External links

[edit] Route description

[edit] Western segment

The first segment starts at State Route 99 just west of Downtown Bakersfield. The road continues as 24th street, but then splits at B St. utilizing 24th street as its westbound usage, and 23rd St. as its eastbound through the eastern part of Downtown Bakersfield. 178 then becomes a freeway as it departs Bakersfield. The freeway ends about 5 miles east of Downtown and becomes a two-lane conventional highway that ascends the lower Sierra Nevada Mountains on its way to Lake Isabella. Just south of Lake Isabella, the road briefly again becomes a divided limited access freeway, but later converts back to a two lane road at the at-grade junction with Lake Isabella Blvd. The road winds a little bit until it ascends to Walker Pass, an elevation of over 5000 feet. The highway then descends from the mountains to its junction with State Route 14. It then proceeds eastward across US 395 into the town of Ridgecrest, CA. The constructed highway ends at the turnoff for the Trona Pinnacles National Natural Landmark.

[edit] Eastern segment

The second segment resumes four miles west of Salisberry Pass in the southeasterly part of Death Valley National Park in Inyo County. It then meets up with State Route 127. 178 then branches northward from 127 to the California-Nevada State Line. In Nevada, the roadway continues as State Route 372 ending at State Route 160 near the center of Pahrump in Nye County. Plans to connect the two constructed segments in California are unlikely due to the would-be link's passage through Death Valley National Park.

The segment of State Route 178 from State Route 127 to the California-Nevada State Line as well as all of Nevada State Route 372 are both known as the Charles Brown Highway. Charles Brown, a former California State Legislator, was a major proponent for the incorporation of the segment of State Route 178 between State Route 14 and the California-Nevada state line into the California Highway System.

[edit] Major intersections and exit list

Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

County	Location	Postmile [4][5][6]	#[7]	Destinations	Notes
Kern KER 0.00-104.62	Bakersfield	0.00		SR 58 / SR 99 – Sacramento, Los Angeles	Interchange
		0.36		Oak Street south	Former Legislative Route 141 south
		West end of freeway
		R2.01	2A	Q Street, Golden State Avenue (SR 204, Bus. 99)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		R2.01	2A	SR 204 north (Golden State Avenue, Bus. 99 north)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		R2.41	2B	Union Avenue (SR 204 south, Bus. 99 south)
		R3.40	3	Beale Avenue
		R4.10	4	Haley Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		R4.63	5	Mount Vernon Avenue
		R5.64	6	Oswell Street
		East end of freeway
		R6.77		Fairfax Road
		T9.61		SR 184 – Lamont
				Alfred Harrell Highway, Comanche Drive
	Lake Isabella	West end of freeway
		R41.65	42	Bodfish, Lake Isabella
		R42.94	43	SR 155 – Wofford Heights, Lake Isabella, Kernville
		East end of freeway
	Freeman Junction	88.26 14 57.77		SR 14 south – Mojave, Los Angeles	West end of SR 14 overlap
		14 60.57 88.38		SR 14 north – Bishop, Reno	East end of SR 14 overlap
	Inyokern	R93.24		US 395 – Bishop, Reno, San Bernardino	Interchange; west end of Bus. 395 overlap
	Ridgecrest	100.60		Inyokern Road, Sandquist Road
		102.61		Bus. 395 south (China Lake Boulevard) / Ridgecrest Boulevard	East end of Bus. 395 overlap
San Bernardino SBD 0.00-14.78		7.35		Trona Road
		14.78		Trona Road
Gap in SR 178
Inyo INY 28.00-62.19		28.00		Jubilee Pass Road	Old Death Valley National Monument boundary
		42.92 127 16.25		SR 127 north to SR 190 – Death Valley	West end of SR 127 overlap
	Shoshone	127 14.75 42.93		SR 127 south – Baker	East end of SR 127 overlap
		62.19		SR 372 east – Pahrump	Nevada state line

[edit] References

[edit] Images along SR178

CalTrans guide sign along State Route 178 in Onyx.	CalTrans G9-2 guide sign looking westbound on SR178 at the eastern extent of Mountain Mesa.	SR178 is the road left of center in this view of Bodfish and Lake Isabella.	Guide sign at the east extent of South Lake in eastern Kern County.
SR178 upgrades to freeway eastbound from M Street in Bakersfield.

[edit] External links

• Caltrans: Route 178 highway conditions
• West Coast Roads: State Route 178
• California Highways: State Route 178