San Joaquin Valley

The eight-county San Joaquin Valley is the part of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton. Much of it is rural, but it does contain the cities of Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Modesto, and Visalia.

Transportation

Roads

Interstate 5 (I-5) and California State Highway 99 (CA/SR-99, or just "99") each run along the entire length of the San Joaquin Valley. I-5 runs in the western valley, bypassing major population centers (including Fresno, currently the largest U.S. city without an Interstate highway), while 99 runs through them. State and federal representatives have long pushed to convert 99 to an Interstate, although this cannot occur until all of the portions of 99 between I-5 and the I-505 junction are upgraded to freeway standards.

Related Topics:
Interstate 5 - California State Highway 99 - Freeway

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California State Highway 58 (CA/SR-58), which is a freeway in Bakersfield and along most of its route until its terminus in Barstow, is an extremely important and very heavily traveled route for truckers from the valley and the Bay Area who want to cross the Sierra Nevada and leave California (by way of Interstate 15 or Interstate 40) without having to climb Donner Pass or brave the horrendous traffic congestion of Los Angeles. Proposals have also been made to designate this highway as a western extension of I-40 once the entirety of the route between Mojave and Barstow has been upgraded to a freeway. This would provide an Interstate connection for Bakersfield, currently the second-largest U.S. city without an Interstate.

Related Topics:
California State Highway 58 - Barstow - Interstate 15 - Interstate 40 - Donner Pass - Mojave

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Other important highways in the valley include California State Highway 46 (CA/SR-46) and California State Highway 41 (CA/SR-41), which respectively link the California Central Coast with Bakersfield and Fresno; California State Highway 33, which runs south to north along the valley's western rim and provides a connection to Ventura and Santa Barbara over the Santa Ynez Mountains; and California State Highway 152 (CA/SR-152), an important commuter route linking Silicon Valley with its fast-growing exurbs such as Los Banos.

Related Topics:
California State Highway 46 - California State Highway 41 - California Central Coast - California State Highway 33 - Ventura - Santa Barbara - Santa Ynez Mountains - California State Highway 152 - Silicon Valley - Exurb - Los Banos

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Rail

Amtrak provides rail service through the San Joaquin Valley. There are also plans for a high-speed rail line that will link the valley with San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego. While many valley politicians and businesses are eager supporters of the line, eager to provide better connections to the larger and wealthier cities to the north and south, large and vocal factions in cities like Modesto and Stockton have opposed the line going through their towns on noise grounds. In any case, construction will not likely begin until 2010 or later.

Related Topics:
Amtrak - San Francisco - Los Angeles - Sacramento - San Diego

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Water

A small port for oceangoing cargo ships is present in Stockton, which is connected to the San Francisco Bay by way of a deepwater channel along the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta. Congestion at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, which together account for the majority of container traffic in the United States, has led to calls for further development of the port.

Related Topics:
San Francisco Bay - Port of Los Angeles - Port of Long Beach - Container

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Unlike the Sacramento River, the San Joaquin River has never been navigable much past Stockton. This was a significant factor in the San Joaquin Valley's slow 19th-century development.

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