November 2018 Ridge Route Update

Many people ask us what is going on with the road. Well, to be honest, not a whole lot. At least not by its appearance.

First, due to health issues, Harrison Scott has stepped down as President of the RRPO. He is still very much a part of the organization and will continue to be a great resource for the road for a long time to come. As such, we held an emergency board election where I, Michael Ballard, became the new President. I have been studying the road since I was around 12 when I first got a chance to take the road. I have since done a great deal of research on the road, as well as the later alignments of US 99. I’ve had a website covering US 99 since 1995 and it may well be the first site to do so.

We are presently working with the Angeles National Forest to rectify the right-of-way and land ownership issues at the southern end of the Ridge Route. This process will take a while, but we will see it through. We have a lot of data to back up our claims regarding the land ownership and look forward to a positive response.

While there is no date or venue set yet, I do plan to host a public meeting in the near future, most likely March or April, in either the Bakersfield area or the Santa Clarita area, regarding the roadway. Topics may include updates on our progress, items for sale, history of the road, and more depending on what we are able to arrange. If you are interested in such a meeting, let us know.

We will need funds to further our cause, getting the road open, and to repair or replace the markers along the Ridge Route. So far, we are looking at potentially selling Ridge Route related novelty items and are presently in the design phase. There is no time frame yet, however, as to when this will be done.

As to the road itself, it is still closed. Reports are coming in from travelers that the gates are sometimes open. While you could travel the roadway by motor vehicle during those periods, they are not official. Don’t count on the gate staying open if you do go past it and we do not recommend it either. As winter is fast approaching, and storms are already coming in, travel over the roadway during or after a storm is highly discouraged. Doing so can damage the roadway further, particularly if the vehicle is heavy, such as an SUV or large truck.

Changes to the RRPO

Greetings all,

There have been some changes recently regarding the Ridge Route Preservation Organization. Due to some unexpected circumstances, we have a new president. I, Michael Ballard, was elected to become the new president of the RRPO. I look forward to leading the group and will continue our struggle to preserve and protect the roadway. I plan to be meeting with many different groups in the near future to help further our cause and get more people involved. Harrison Scott, the former president of the group, will still be involved. We do thank him for all he has done and his continuing contributions to our collective effort are always welcomed and appreciated.

What is Civil Code Section 1008?

As stated on the State of California Legislature website:

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1008

DIVISION 2. PROPERTY [654 – 1422] ( Heading of Division 2 amended by Stats. 1988, Ch. 160, Sec. 13. )
PART 4. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY [1000 – 1422] ( Part 4 enacted 1872. )
TITLE 2. OCCUPANCY [1006 – 1009] ( Title 2 enacted 1872. )
1008.
No use by any person or persons, no matter how long continued, of any land, shall ever ripen into an easement by prescription, if the owner of such property posts at each entrance to the property or at intervals of not more than 200 feet along the boundary a sign reading substantially as follows: “Right to pass by permission, and subject to control, of owner: Section 1008, Civil Code.”

(Added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 926.)

This code can be used when someone owns a property but does not limit access, per se. In the case of the Ridge Route, the person posting these signs does not own the roadway and cannot legally post nor enforce these signs.

One of the projects we are presently working on, and an important one at that, is to have this situation corrected. The Ridge Route is a public highway on public land. Once this problem is resolved, it will be a lot easier to convince the proper authorities to reopen the roadway.

1934 Ridge Route Relinquishment

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