Commercial Transportation

Location

Wasco is located in Kern County, approximately 25 miles northwest of Bakersfield, the county seat. Wasco is conveniently accessible to Interstate 5 and State Highways 99,46,43, and 58 and is on the main line of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and has daily Amtrak service.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway

Wasco is on the main line of the largest railroad network in the U.S. under single ownership, the recently merged Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. The Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Rail Line is adjacent to the Wasco Industrial Park and runs through the Central Valley to strategic points throughout the State, as far east as Birmingham, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida and to the Mexican and Canadian Borders.

Having access to this major single ownership rail line enables industries to efficiently receive and ship raw materials and finished products to and from many distant locations with minimal or no switch charges, with few delays, and with reduced administrative requirements.

For more information on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, please visit their website.

Highways

Wasco is conveniently accessible to Interstate 5 and State Highways 99,46,43, and 58.

View a map depicting distances from Wasco (PNG) for more information about these highways.

Airports

International Airports

Major international airports in Los Angeles are within a two to three hour drive of Wasco. For more information on these airports please visit the Los Angeles World Airports website.

Wasco Airport

The Wasco Airport, a County of Kern airport, has:

  • 4 hanger spaces
  • 6 shelters
  • 11 T-hangers
  • 3,380 foot runway
  • 36 aircraft tie-downs

The Wasco Airport has 14 based aircraft and had 9,030 aircraft operations during the past year.

Opportunity Zone Designation

Opportunity Zones are a new community development program established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide. The Opportunity Zones program provides a tax incentive for investors to re-invest their unrealized capital gains into Opportunity Funds that are dedicated to investing into Opportunity Zones designated by the chief executives of every U.S. state and territory. Census Tracts 4402 and 4401 have been designated as Opportunity Zones.

Learn more about Opportunity Zones on the State of California Department of Finance website.