History
Before the 1964 renumbering, State Route 204 was known as Legislative Route 141. It was created in 1933 as a western bypass to Bakersfield via Brundage Ln. and Oak St. At that time, US 99 (defined by the State as Legislative Route 4) ran through Bakersfield via Chester Ave, and through Oildale (north of Bakersfield) via Roberts Ln. LRN 141 started at the intersection of US 99 (Chester Ave.) and Brundage Ln, where it traveled west to Oak St. At Oak St, the route turned north, crossed the Kern River, and terminated at US 99 (Roberts Ln.) near Beardsley School in Oildale.
In the mid 1930s US 99 was moved from Chester Ave./Roberts Ln. to Union Ave./Golden State Ave. During the late 1950s, the Union Ave. Wye, Truxton Ave. Interchange, and Chester Ave. Interchange (with the bridge over Garces Circle) were constructed to improve traffic flow. However, when the US 99 freeway bypass was constructed in 1963, Caltrans decided to use the Oak St. route around the city instead of the Union Ave. route through the city. As a result, the route designations were swapped. The freeway parallel to Oak St. would become US 99. LRN 141 would become the US 99 bypass via Brundage Ln, Union Ave, and Golden State Ave. That designation never took effect because in 1963 all of the state highways were renumbered. As a result, LRN 141 became SR 204. Its definition was also simplified to bypass SR 99 via Union Ave. and Golden State Ave, although that change lengthened the route. In 1978, the route was shortened to connect SR 58 to SR 99 via Union Ave. and Golden State Ave, which was close to the original 1963 definition.
Read more about this topic: California State Route 204
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