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California State Route 223

{{short description|Highway in California}}

{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox road

|state=CA

|type=SR

|route=223

|section=523

|maint=Caltrans

|alternate_name=Bear Mountain Boulevard

|map_notes=SR 223 highlighted in red

|length_mi=31.92

|length_round=2

|length_ref=

|direction_a=West

|terminus_a={{Jct|state=CA|I|5}} near Taft

|junction={{plainlist

|*{{Jct|state=CA|SR|99}} near Greenfield

}}

|direction_b=East

|terminus_b={{Jct|state=CA|SR|58}} near Arvin

|counties=Kern

|previous_type=SR

|previous_route=222

|next_type=SR

|next_route=224

}}

State Route 223 (SR 223), locally known as Bear Mountain Boulevard, is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs west to east through the agricultural land south of Bakersfield in Kern County. Running from Interstate 5 (I-5) to State Route 58 near the city of Arvin, it also intersects with State Route 99 near Greenfield. 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.{{google maps|url=https://maps.google.com/?ll=35.231599,-118.922882&spn=0.254635,0.574722&t=m&z=11|title=State Route 223|accessdate=2012-04-13}}

A portion of SR 223 near SR 99 is part of the National Highway System,{{FHWA NHS map|region=californiasouth|accessdate=September 9, 2017}} a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.{{FHWA NHS}}

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, which was the most direct route between the San Joaquin Valley and Los Angeles via Tehachapi Pass and the Mojave Desert. 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.McAllister, Melvin. [http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/ViewPost/48387 The 'old roads' to Bakersfield]. Tehachapi News. Accessed: 11-05-2009. 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 140, which ran from Taft to US 99 (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.[http://www.cahighways.org/137-144.html Route 137-144]. CAHighway.org. Accessed: 11-05-2009. It was dropped from the route in 1959, and became Legislative Route 264.[http://www.cahighways.org/257-264.html Route 257-264]. CAHighway.org. Accessed: 11-05-2009. 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.[http://www.cahighways.org/217-224.html Route 217-224]. CAHighway.org. Accessed: 11-05-2009.

Major intersections

{{CAinttop|county=Kern|post_ref=
{{Caltrans bridgelog|date=July 2007}}California Department of Transportation, [http://traffic-counts.dot.ca.gov/ All Traffic Volumes on CSHS], 2007

}}

{{CAint

|location=none

|postmile=1.85

|road=Bear Mountain Boulevard

|notes=Continuation beyond I-5

}}

{{CAint

|location=none

|postmile=1.85

|road={{Jct|state=CA|I|5|name1=Westside Freeway|city1=Sacramento|city2=Los Angeles}}

|notes=Interchange; west end of SR 223; I-5 exit 239

}}

{{CAint

|location=none

|postmile=4.86

|road=Old River Road – Old River

|notes=

}}

{{CAint

|location=none

|postmile=8.89

|road=Wible Road – Pumpkin Center

|notes=

}}

{{CAint

|location=none

|postmile=R10.54

|road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|99|city1=Los Angeles|city2=Bakersfield|city3=Sacramento}}

|notes=Interchange; SR 99 exit 13

}}

{{CAint

|location=none

|postmile=10.94

|road={{Jct|state=CA|SR-Bus|99|dab1=Bakersfield|name1=Union Avenue|city1=Los Angeles|countydab2=Kern|city2=Greenfield|city3=Bakersfield}}

|notes=Former US 99

}}

{{CAint

|location=none

|postmile=R16.01

|road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|184|dir1=north|name1=Weedpatch Highway|city1=Lamont|road|Wheeler Ridge Road}}

|notes=

}}

{{CAint

|location=Arvin

|postmile=20.15

|road=Comanche Drive

|notes=

}}

{{CAint

|location=none

|postmile=31.92

|road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|58|city1=Mojave|city2=Bakersfield}}

|notes=East end of SR 223

}}

{{Jctbtm}}

See also

  • {{portal-inline|California Roads}}

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

External links

{{Attached KML|display=inline,title}}

{{commons category}}

{{CASR external links|SR|223}}

  • [http://www.aaroads.com/california/ca-223.html California @ AARoads.com - State Route 223]
  • [http://www.cahighways.org/217-224.html#223 California Highways: SR 223]

223

State Route 223