Caltrans moves forward with $165 million project

Caltrans is moving forward on a $165 million project that will remove four curves, replace disintegrating pavement and make other improvements on a 10- to 12-mile stretch of Highway 58 just west of Tehachapi.

That section of the highway has been the scene of numerous accidents in recent years, including big rig crashes that resulted in closures lasting many hours.

The initial study for what is called the Keene Pavement Project was released last March and the transportation agency accepted public comments through the end of April. Options for the project, the document noted, were that Caltrans could give environmental approval to the proposed project, do additional environmental studies or abandon the project.

On Jan. 17, a Caltrans spokesperson said that the environmental document was approved and that the agency is moving forward with the project.

“It is currently in the design phase and we are aiming for construction to begin in fiscal year 2024-25,” Public Information Officer Christopher Andriessen said in an email.

The project will upgrade existing pavement, guardrail, bridge rail, median barrier, drainage and lighting on the highway from 3.4 miles east of Broome Road west to the vicinity of Bealville Road.

The tentative construction schedule in the initial document showed a start date of March 2025 and an end date of November 2026.

As outlined by Caltrans, the project may include wildlife undercrossings and/or culvert modifications within the limits of another long-awaited project, the future Highway 58 Truck Climbing Lane. The study stated that “constructing this mitigation in advance would serve to address potential impacts to wildlife habitat connectivity and movement as a result of the … truck climbing lane by enhancing habitat connectivity and promoting safe movement of wildlife under the existing highway.”

On Jan. 13, Andriessen said the District 9 environmental team is nearing completion of the draft environmental document for the State Route 58 Truck Climbing Lane Project.

“In the coming weeks, we will release updated information on this project on our website,” he said. “The public comment period for this project will begin once the draft environmental document is made public and we will host a public meeting about two weeks after the document is released.”

Highway 58’s route between Tehachapi and Bakersfield traverses an area that has been recognized as a critical wildlife corridor.

A major stakeholder working with Caltrans during the Keene Pavement Project’s planning is The Nature Conservancy. Early last year the organization purchased the Loop Ranch, which is adjacent to the section of Highway 58 slated for improvement. The property is now part of the Frank and Joan Randall Preserve in the Tehachapi Mountains.

Cara Lacey, the organization’s director, wildlife corridors and crossings, said in April 2022 that the organization “is absolutely going to be involved in the design of these structures and in bringing experts and a coalition together to discuss what these crossings could do, where they could be located and why they are needed to reduce highway and animal vulnerability.”

And a new state law, California’s Safe Roads and Wildlife Protection Act (AB-2344), passed last August. The legislation directs the state’s transportation and wildlife agencies to identify and address barriers to wildlife movement when designing and implementing transportation projects within important habitat connectivity areas.