Lake Isabella and a 60’ wide expressway extending west to China Garden. Subsequent phases were not funded. Abandoned western freeway extension The freeway portion of Route 178 ends as it approaches downtown Bakersfield from the east, causing a large volume of traffic congestion foreseen since the freeway's inception in the late 1950s. Weak public support and subsequent lack of funds hindered efforts to complete the freeway through downtown and Westchester to its proposed terminus at the beginning of the recently completed Westside Parkway. Although freeway alternatives through various neighborhoods have been studied several times following the existing portion's completion in 1968, the city of Bakersfield has never formally endorsed a route. Although Caltrans formally announced preference for an alignment through downtown and Westchester in 1973, fierce public opposition coupled with the historic integrity of the neighborhoods slated to be demolished greatly hindered momentum of the project. By the time then-Governor Jerry Brown issued a moratorium on all new freeway construction in 1977, any realistic hope for a completion date for a downtown freeway had completely evaporated. Formal studies on possible routes continue to be studied, however, resulting in recommendations of a more southern alignment near Truxtun Avenue executed by the Kern Council of Governors (KernCOG) in 1986, and most recently in 2001 as a part of the Bakersfield System Study. Despite the studies, SR 178 as a limited-access highway through downtown is unlikely to come to pass anytime in the near future. A Westchester alignment would have extended the freeway west from its current terminus at M Street and through Downtown Bakersfield in the vicinity of 23rd street. As it continued through Westchester the freeway would turn southwest, cross under SR 99 and terminate at the newly completed Westside Parkway. A southern alignment would start at SR 178 at Baker Street, about 0.7 miles east of its current terminus. From there, it would turn southwest and run parallel to Baker Street, through East Bakersfield, to the BNSF railroad yard. It would then turn west and run south of the railroad tracks through the southern end of Downtown Bakersfield. At Bakersfield High School, it would run north of the tracks (avoiding the high school). It would continue under SR 99 and terminate at the proposed Westside Parkway. City of Bakersfield 24th Street Improvements Still needing to address the increasing crosstown congestion and with a freeway through downtown effectively out of the