Crews were scheduled to grind 18th Street between L and O streets on Oct. 1 and 2. The city said most of the work would happen during the day, the road would reopen after each shift, and access to businesses and homes would stay open throughout. The city still says the whole 18th and 19th Street Corridor Improvement Project will wrap up by Oct. 31. It also says work can be postponed without notice if weather or other problems come up.
Several of downtown's biggest fall events are scheduled for those same final weeks. Latination returns to 18th Street on Oct. 23 and 24. Boos & Brews takes over a 19th Street brewery on Oct. 27. A rock musical runs weekends on 19th Street through Nov. 1. Late October will be the busiest the corridor has been all year, and it will still be under construction. Whether those nights go smoothly comes down to parking, which has been downtown's bottleneck for at least three decades.
What the rebuild changes, and what's still unfinished
The project started in April and is part of the Making Downtown Bakersfield Vision Plan, a 30-year framework for reinvesting in downtown infrastructure. BakersfieldNow lists the work as new pavement, upgraded storm drains, accessible ramps, and better street and pedestrian lighting. KGET adds new sidewalks, gutters, crosswalks, bike lanes, benches, trees and shrubs. The budget is roughly $7 million to $7.5 million: KGET reported the lower figure and BakersfieldNow the higher one.
The work was planned in three segments:
| Segment | Blocks | Latest public status |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | L Street to O Street | 18th Street grinding scheduled Oct. 1–2 |
| Phase 2 | F Street to L Street | No public completion update found |
| Phase 3 | O Street to Mill Creek | No public completion update found |
The table has gaps because no public update we found says which phases are finished. The Sept. 30 notice that announced the Oct. 1–2 closure is the most recent specific word from the city, and it describes that segment as ongoing. For a week-by-week picture, the city's closure notices will be more current than anything published so far.
Parking has always been the downtown problem
When Nick Uricchio opened Uricchio's Trattoria at the northwest corner of 17th and K in 1995, The Bakersfield Californian says downtown had little to keep business people around after 6 p.m. His daughter, Claire Porter, says he considered west Bakersfield before choosing 17th and K. Nearby property owners helped by opening their parking lots to his customers.
Thirty-one years later, parking was the first complaint once the construction crews arrived. In July, Marc DeLeon, who has owned Mad Dog Tattoo and Body Piercing on 19th Street for 35 years, told BakersfieldNow he had lost 80% of his business since April because customers couldn't find places to park. The Mint Bar and Griffin Pawn Shop also said they were struggling. DeLeon's fix was simple: park the construction equipment somewhere other than the lot next to his shop. During a reporter's interview with Councilman Andrae Gonzales, who proposed the broader downtown project in 2017, a car was towed nearby. Gonzales called DeLeon's idea a good one.
"It's a bit ironic that this project is intended to help enhance and support small businesses and yet it's impacting businesses in the interim. That's no good." Councilman Andrae Gonzales, to BakersfieldNow, July 2026
The city said staff were reaching out directly to affected businesses and had given every business on the corridor a direct contact. It also said the project remained on schedule for the end of October. DeLeon posted a follow-up the next day calling it a positive update, saying city staff would be working with him.
The cost of the project fell on the businesses along the corridor first. Its benefits arrive once crews leave, and the events coming up this month will be the first big crowds to use the rebuilt street.
The calendar runs right up to the finish
Latination is the clearest example. The Arts Council of Kern first scheduled it for Sept. 4 and 5. After talks with Mayor Karen Goh, City Manager Christian Clegg and city staff, the council moved it to Oct. 23 and 24, citing attendee safety around the street work. Founder and chairman Don Martin called the move "the most responsible decision." The new dates are about a week before the city's Oct. 31 completion target.
This is what's on the downtown calendar from now through early November:
- Oct. 9–Nov. 1: Ovation Theatre stages Jagged Little Pill at 1622 19th St. on Oct. 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31, and Nov. 1.
- Oct. 10: Bakersfield Museum of Art's Second Saturday, with jazz in the garden and an all-ages art project.
- Oct. 17: Bako Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Centennial Plaza outside Dignity Health Arena, 1001 Truxtun Ave.
- Oct. 17–18: The Via Arté Chalk Festival, listed on BMoA's fall calendar.
- Oct. 23–24: The Latination Art Exhibit and Fiesta at 1020 18th St., Friday 5 to 10 p.m. and Saturday noon to 5 p.m. It includes an adult artists' show and the new Latination Kids exhibit for artists up to age 18.
- Oct. 27: Boos & Brews, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Centro Cali Brewing, 716 19th St., with networking, small bites, a drink, raffles and a costume contest.
Artists entering Latination have final drop-off dates of Oct. 8 and 9.
Three of those six entries are on 18th or 19th Street, and four of the six fall in the last two weeks before the city's completion date. Anyone driving downtown for Latination or a Jagged Little Pill weekend should plan for the corridor to still be in its final stage of work, not finished.
What opened, what changed, and what closed
Several businesses near the corridor opened, expanded or closed during the construction, and the timing is part of the story.
Chef Lino Gonzalez and Frances Cueto announced Taps & Tapas at 816 18th St., in the former 18th Street Bar & Grill space. The Bakersfield Californian reported that a soft opening was planned for the following week. Around the corner, Katelyn Marsh's horror-themed drinks shop Twisted was set to open at 1917 Eye St., in the former Toss It Salad Bar spot. Both were reported as planned openings, so check their current hours before you go.
At 1400 19th St., Woolworth's Luncheonette added Sunday brunch. Chef Richard Yoshimura described it as a way to make the building a gathering place.
Uricchio's announced a summer break in July. It later posted on social media that it would not reopen, citing "hurdles we could not overcome." Porter told The Bakersfield Californian that several pressures added up. Running the restaurant got harder after the pandemic, and harder again when the longtime chef left because of illness. She had also been ready to retire two years earlier. "I feel like we had our moment in the sun and it was time," she said.
Other downtown owners responded by looking hard at their own costs. Tami Slawson of Too Fat Sandwiches told 23ABC her electricity bill is "astronomical," but she won't cut quality to save money. Gabe Uolla, who chairs the Downtown Business Association and owns In Your Wildest Dreams, pointed to the association's workshops at the Bell Tower. They cover HR, marketing, insurance and operating costs and are open to any business. Uolla also said one closure can open the door for another business to take a brick-and-mortar space downtown.
That fits what's happening along the corridor. Taps & Tapas moved into an empty bar space on 18th, Twisted into a former salad bar on Eye, and Woolworth's added a day of service, all while the street was torn up.
Getting around downtown this month
For weekday visits before Oct. 31, check the city's closure notices first. The most recent one came out on Sept. 30, the day before the 18th Street work was scheduled to start. The city said that road would reopen to traffic after each daytime shift, so evening events should be easier to reach than lunch on a work day.
Bako Market at Centennial Plaza is off the 18th and 19th corridor, so construction won't affect it. Latination and the 19th Street shows are on the corridor. Plan for the parking problem DeLeon described in July, and allow extra time to find a spot.
If the city meets its target, the next downtown event after Halloween will be the first on a finished corridor, with the new crosswalks, lighting, benches and trees the plan promised. Until then, Latination, Boos & Brews and the Jagged Little Pill weekends will bring the largest crowds the corridor has seen while it's still being finished.
If you own a building on or near 18th or 19th Street and the construction months changed your plans for it, Acquire'd Real Estate buys property as-is and can close in 7 to 10 days. You get a clear number before Oct. 31, whether or not the work finishes on time. Start with a free home valuation, see our Central Valley coverage, or get a cash offer and talk directly with the founders.
