Things have calmed down quite a bit on the Ridge Route, thanks to the efforts of the fire crews working the #RouteFire. The old Ridge Route was unharmed and was well away from the fire. Per USFS, it appears the reports of trucks once again traveling the Ridge Route were likely people spotting fire crews taking the roadway. They did not get any reports of heavy traffic over the roadway either during the I-5 closure. This is good news. While we do not know if the gates were open before the fire, it looks like efforts by the USFS, County of Los Angeles, and Caltrans to block the roadway through other means during the forest closure were fruitful.
I do wish to reiterate that the Ridge Route, regardless of closure, is not an alternative to I-5. Heavy vehicles should not be traversing the roadway at any time as they can and do damage the historic roadway.
If you see vehicles that should not be on the roadway, such as big rigs and similar commercial traffic, please let us know and we will inform the proper authorities. Make sure to give us where you saw them, what direction, and any description of the vehicle so we can give the best information possible.
Thank you all again for your support f0r the roadway and our organization. We look forward to seeing many of you out there on October 23, 2021 for our next CUTRR event, contingent on the forest closure or other conditions. Should be a lot of fun!
Finally some good news, mostly. The #RouteFire is mostly out and does not appear to have affected the old Ridge Route. I-5 is open and traffic seems to be flowing smoothly through the area.
There were reports of trucks once again trying to travel the old Ridge Route, which once again likely damaged the roadway. Traveling the roadway during these periods, especially with heavy trucks, can also result in injury or death due to being trapped between stuck trucks and a wildfire. Trucks can easily fall off the roadway, increasing problems for emergency crews trying to fight the fire.
We will be speaking with the Forest Service, California Highway Patrol, and the County of Los Angeles to see what can be done about this continuing problem. We have already made requests to the County for additional signage to discourage such traffic. Every report on social media touting the roadway as open, because someone saw the gates open, only makes the problem worse. The Ridge Route is not an alternate to I-5. It is not built for such traffic, which can cause irreparable damage to the historic roadway. Please, do your part to help stop this problem, however you can. We are indeed working toward having the roadway open on a more regular, seasonal basis. We’d like to have a roadway left to have open.
The Ridge Route, as it was before, is CLOSED from Templin Highway to the Tumble Inn site on a regular basis. The Angeles National Forest, including the Ridge Route, is closed due to increased fire danger until September 17, 2021. This date may be extended, and if it does we will post that information on this site.
We are currently monitoring a fire that has started near I-5 and Templin Highway, known as the #RouteFire. It does appear to be growing at a rapid pace and is moving toward the Old Ridge Route. At this time, no major Ridge Route structures are in danger. Our planned event is many miles from this location and is also thus far not impacted.
Stay tuned to our Twitter account – @ridgeroute99 for updates.
Potholes near Granite Gate. Courtesy – Michael F Ballard
Our event on August 28 was a great success! Let’s keep that going. Our next event will be on Saturday, October 23, 2021, weather and conditions permitting as always. This event will concentrate on the northern end of the roadway between Granite Gate and the Liebre Maintenance Station site. This section of roadway has numerous potholes, rocks, and other debris covering the roadway which need to be cleared. We are negotiating with the USFS to get permission to use asphalt patch material for the potholes and potentially larger equipment such as a skip-loader to remove some of the debris. Lacking those, we can still make great progress on the roadway and reduce the damage to the historic roadway. Please bring shovels, picks, branch cutters / clippers, and any other tools to help clear dirt from the roadway and brush from the drains. We will need a truck or two to transport material to another site for disposal.
Circled area marks the area where we will be working.
If you would like to join us, please RSVP as soon as possible. Let us know what sort of equipment you will bring and if you are able to assist with transporting the materials to a disposal site further south on the roadway. Try to carpool, if possible, so that we can reduce the number of vehicles on the roadway.
We will meet at the parking lot of the Carl’s Jr in Gorman (49669 Gorman Post Rd, Gorman, CA 93243) near Exit 202 off I-5 at 8 am. We will depart by 8:30 am and head to the work site.
If you have any questions or concerns about the event, please let us know. We look forward to seeing you all there! Please use the form below to sign up for the event.
For Amateur Radio: We will be on 146.580 (Simplex) as well for communications.
If you haven’t already, please use the box below to subscribe to our website. You will receive any updates we post to our site directly to your e-mail.
On Saturday, August 28, we held our first 2021 CUTRR event. Each event has a section of roadway to focus on and this one was to remove a large rockslide that occurred in January 2021 below Swede’s Cut. The event was advertised on our website and on our social media accounts. It was a huge success! We had a much larger group than I had expected and we completed our task. The rockslide has been removed and the roadway is clear!
The slide, as it was in February 2021 and what we had to clear.
The big boulder visible took a lot of work to deal with. At first, we worked to break up the boulder, which slowly chipped away at its bulk. We had hoped to break it down yet further but reached a point it was too difficult given our tools and the heat. We decided the best course of action was to move it across the roadway and off the pavement. Between a truck and a jeep with tow straps, we were able to finally drag it off the roadway with minimal damage to the historic pavement below. Eventually, we hope to completely remove the large boulder either by further breaking it up or removing it in its entirety to another location.
Crew at work clearing the slide. Moving the big boulder took some time.
Fossil leaves from the upper Miocene Ridge Route Formation. Found in the slide material.
Almost done clearing the debris. The big boulder is now moved across the road and out of the way.
Roadway cleared and swept.
I want to thank ALL the volunteers that were able to attend. It was really a great and enthusiastic group. We could not have done this without all of you!
A video of the event was also posted on YouTube by one of the participants, Sydney Croasmun.
An additional video with aerial footage was posted by Huck Outdoors.
October CUTRR
We are planning another CUTRR event in October when temperatures will hopefully be cooler, however at this time we do not have a date set. We will be developing a better list for tools similar to a “potluck” for signups. Look for updates coming in the near future. If you would like additional information, have tools or equipment you’d like to offer for use, please let us know!
Roadway Update
The roadway is overall in decent condition but many problematic sections still exist. The northern end from the Liebre Maintenance Camp site to Sandberg has a few larger dirt-covered sections and areas where the culverts are partially clogged. Some sections of 1924-1927 asphalt are also failing. We intend to get work parties up there to rehabilitate the failing asphalt and remove the material on the roadway in the near future.
The roadway does remain closed between the Tumble Inn and just north of Templin Highway. While the gates have been left open, usually by the utility companies working along the road, anyone traveling up there should expect the gates to be locked. If one is unlocked, don’t expect the other to be as well. Please exercise caution along the roadway. We all want to keep the roadway around for the future and everyone can help do their part in ensuring that.
Forest Closure
All National Forests are closed from August 31, 2021 to September 17, 2021 per a recent USFS press release. This includes access to the Ridge Route from Templin Highway to State 138. For detailed information, please see the link below.
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Featured Photo
Curbing just north of Martins
Concrete curbing used to be much more common along the Ridge Route. It was used in places where wooden railing was more difficult to install. As the roadway was realigned, the curbing was removed. Today, very little remains of what once was miles of it. Only four short sections remain today. Those are located at the Callahan Line Change, just north of Martins, Serpentine Drive, and Grapevine.
