March 2020 Update

Things have been busy with the RRPO lately. Last month, I posted a request for a new RRPO Secretary. It didn’t take long to get a candidate. On Thursday, March 4, the board met to vote on this new secretary as well as a few other administrative issues.

So, we’d like to welcome our new RRPO Secretary – Richard Schwartz – to our board. We look forward to his help in keeping the Ridge Route in good repair and getting it fully open again.

We have also finally settled on a date for the next CUTRR. It will be held on April 25th, starting at 10 am. The meeting location is TBD as well as additional details regarding any requirements will be announced soon. If you’re interested in joining us, please let us know beforehand.

An event, which is also a fundraiser for the RRPO, is coming up this month. A trail race run, called the Ridge Route Ultra, will be held on Saturday, March 14. The event will go nearly the entire length of the roadway, from near Martin’s to near Neenach.

On Saturday, April 4 at 7 pm, I will be giving a presentation at the Ridge Route Communities Museum regarding the status of the Ridge Route and how others can help. For more information regarding the museum, click here!

As to the roadway itself, the gates are still closed, though the northern gate has been compromised. The USFS is aware of the problem and it will hopefully be fixed somewhat soon. The southern gate remains closed, so through travel is still not possible. A section of roadway, at the south end of the Reservoir Hill grade, has been undermined by pipeline work. Unfortunately, it is also a section which has nearly pristine concrete. We are working with the USFS to get this corrected as soon as possible. The northern end of the roadway, from the Liebre Maintenance Station to Sandbergs has sections of asphalt that are degrading. Hopefully, we will be able to get some patches repaired, which will go a long way to protecting the remaining sections.

New Secretary Needed for RRPO

We are presently seeking a new Secretary for our board of directors. The duties are fairly simple but are necessary to help fulfill our goals. We would need someone that can attend our board meetings (generally every two months and usually via teleconferencing with some in-person meetings), record minutes, keep records of RRPO membership, and assist where needed with other tasks. As we are now moving toward fairly regular events on the Ridge Route, this will be something we will need sooner than later.

If you are interested, let us know!

February 2020 Update

It has been an interesting time on the Ridge Route. So far, the monthly trips on the road have been quite productive. Over the weekend of January 18-19, I took a couple of trips up to the Ridge Route. On Saturday, I went by myself and took my motorcycle over the road as far as Reservoir Summit. It felt good to be back up on the Ridge. I used to spend many days up there just getting away from things. The road is quite peaceful and relaxing. Being able to stop anywhere to take photos was also nice. Few roadways of this caliber allow for this sort of privilege. Visibility was also good that day, which made for some nice photography.

View from just south of the National Forest Inn, looking toward Reservoir Summit and Liebre Mountain.
On the south grade of Reservoir Hill.

Sunday, I took another trip over the road from Castaic to Gorman with a friend. We took his car which, despite some clearance issues, made it over the road with little problem. I hope that, in light of these trips demonstrating the ability for various vehicles to traverse the roadway, that the USFS will open the roadway sooner than later.

Swede’s Cut, still holding up well after some of the work that RRPO did last December.

I was pleased to see that the road was holding up well, within the gates. I did find a few more culverts that were in need of clearing near the site of the largest 2005 landslide. Those will be dealt with later this year. Outside of the gates, particularly on the northern end between the Liebre Maintenance Station and Sandberg is a real mess to say the least. Some of the sections can be easily dealt with using a broom and a shovel. The parts that are more heavily damaged will be a lot tougher to deal with. Those sections, comprised of the 1920’s asphalt, are disintegrating and are in need of new asphalt to hold things together. We will be talking to the Forest Service on ways to do this.

Section near the bottom of the south grade of Reservoir Hill that is being undermined. This is likely by pipeline work, which will need to be remedied as soon as possible.

December 2019 Update – Part 2

On December 21, 2019, a small group of us took a drive over the Ridge Route. Unlike most trips since January 2005, this one wasn’t predicated upon the gate hopefully being open for us. This time, we had keys. As a part of our Volunteer Service Agreement, we were given a key so that we can access the roadway for our CUTRR projects. This trip, while also sightseeing and enjoyable, was also to survey the roadway and determine if there are any sections needing work first. We did find a few sections in need of repairs or clearing but overall the roadway was in pretty good condition.

Opening the north gate.
Between Kelly’s Halfway Inn and Reservoir Summit
Covered in dirt and mud. These are the sections I would like to clear, on the north grade for Reservoir Summit.
Bad section south of Reservoir Summit. This may be the first section we clear.
Area at Reservoir Summit where we can dump excess debris we clear.
Not bad for 100 year-old concrete.

We cleared a few rocks here and there along the roadway, mostly for clearance issues with our vehicle. The only place that required a bit more work for us to pass was at Swede’s Cut. It wasn’t unexpected as most trips along the Ridge Route involve clearing rocks there.

Swede’s Cut before we cleared the rocks and debris.
After clearing at Swede’s Cut.
Closing the south gate.

Overall, the trip was a success. We found the roadway to be traversable and in decent shape, under the circumstances it is in. Work is necessary at multiple locations and will be monitored regularly. Our first CUTRR event will be in late Spring of 2020 and we look forward to having you all join us.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 98, 2001

In 2001, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Concurrent Resolution 98, declaring that a monument be placed to commemorate the Historic Ridge Route. This monument, in the form of a plaque, was placed at the I-5 / State 126 interchange at the southeast corner. We hope to expand this declaration by having them declare the entire roadway as historic, not just for a plaque at the south end.

BILL NUMBER: ACR 98 CHAPTERED
 BILL TEXT

 RESOLUTION CHAPTER  150
 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  OCTOBER 2, 2001
 ADOPTED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 14, 2001
 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 4, 2001

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Runner

                        JULY 20, 2001

   Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 98--Relative to the 1915 Ridge
Route Highway Historical Monument.


 LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 98, Runner.  1915 Ridge Route Highway Historical Monument.
   This measure would request the Department of Transportation to
grant, without charge, an encroachment permit authorizing an
appropriate historical monument and plaque to commemorate the 1915
Ridge Route Highway, to be placed within the rights-of-way of State
Highway Route 126 and Interstate Highway 5, where those highways
converge.

   WHEREAS, Begun in 1914 and completed in late 1915, the Ridge Route
Highway, officially named the "Castaic-Tejon Route," connected
Castaic Junction in Los Angeles County to Bakersfield; and
   WHEREAS, The 1915 Ridge Route Highway was one of the first
products of the newly formed State Bureau of Highways, paid for
through the passage of a 1910 bond act; and
   WHEREAS, The 1915 Ridge Route Highway was considered an
engineering marvel of its day and was the first mountain highway
built in California; and
   WHEREAS, Many credit the 1915 Ridge Route Highway, which opened up
travel and commerce between the Los Angeles basin and the San
Joaquin Valley, with having prevented California from separating into
two separate states; and
   WHEREAS, Workers carved out the original 20-foot wide roadway by
using horse and mule drawn scrapers and graders, going from ridge top
to ridge top across the western San Gabriel mountains; and
   WHEREAS, Originally completed as an oiled, graded gravel road, the
1915 Ridge Route Highway was paved in 1919; and
   WHEREAS, The 1915 Ridge Route Highway was well known for its 697
curves, the most notorious of which was Deadman's Curve near Tejon,
that if added together, would make 110 complete circles; and
   WHEREAS, The 1915 Ridge Route Highway was replaced in 1933, by a
straighter, three-lane highway, which was later widened and became
State Highway 99; and
   WHEREAS, On September 25, 1997, 17.6 miles of the 1915 Ridge Route
Highway south of Gorman, was accepted into the National Registry of
Historic Places; and
   WHEREAS, The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus has
proposed to construct and dedicate, at no cost to the public, a
monument and plaque in honor of the historical significance of the
1915 Ridge Route Highway; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
concurring, That the Department of Transportation is requested to
grant, without charge, the necessary encroachment permit authorizing
an appropriate historical monument and plaque dedicated to
commemorate the 1915 Ridge Route Highway, to be placed within the
rights-of-way of State Highway Route 126 and Interstate Highway 5,
where those highways converge; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit a copy of
this resolution to the Director of Transportation, the Director of
Parks and Recreation, the Ridge Route Preservation Organization, and
to the Platrix Chapter No. 2, Queen of the Cow Counties of the
Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus.