On October 29, 1933, four years after the 1929 stock market crash, the Ridge Route Alternate was opened. This new roadway was intended originally to be an alternate to the Ridge Route, a roadway for those wanting to go faster. Instead, all traffic diverted onto the new roadway. Due to this and the roadway itself being bypassed, the state no longer wanted to maintain the Ridge Route. On August 3, 1934, the California Highway Commission formally relinquished the whole of the Ridge Route, from State 138 to Castaic, to the County of Los Angeles. The document was finally recorded on October 2, 1934 as OR 12996-210.
This relinquishment would be in doubt, however, many years later when there was dispute between the County and the Forest Service as to who would pay for maintenance of the roadway. The County did little to maintain the road, the Forest Service did about as much. The discovery of this document at the Caltrans District 7 office temporarily settled the dispute, or so it would have seemed. The County, in their effort to offload the roadway to the Forest Service, chose the quickest, albeit the most negligent and improper, method to do so. Instead of doing what the State did in 1934, they vacated the roadway in 2005, akin to abandoning it.
This is what we fight. Any and all help is gladly appreciated.
1934 Ridge Route Relinquishment
Thank you. While the state could help in this matter, right now it is in the hands of the County of Los Angeles and the Angeles National Forest to act. A lot of work is ahead for us but I do feel we will persevere.
Thank you for your heartfelt post. It is tragic that the State of California does not recognize the historical significance of this important road. Along with what is left of Old 99, it needs to be preserved and recognized for it’s value.