We are looking for volunteers to help fill and distribute sandbags to an at-risk section of the Old Ridge Route. Recommended tools are a shovel and gloves. The plan is to lay sandbags to redirect the water to the nearest drainage chute.
The location is just south of Kelly’s on the closed off section. Water has washed out part of the berm and is getting dangerously close to the road. The sandbags will help redirect the water and protect the foundation of the road.
As of Thursday morning, the forecast shows rain on 12/20-12/22 and again on the 25th and 26th.
Keep in mind, we are in a remote area without access to a restroom. Please bring water as well!
Please RSVP by emailing scroasmun@ridgeroute.org
Meeting place is the dirt lot next to the Carls Jr in Gorman – 49669 Gorman Post Rd, Gorman, CA 93243
The Ridge Route Preservation Organization was cleared by the Angeles National Forest to repair potholes along the north section of the Old Ridge Route from the 138 to the Tumble Inn.
The intent is to preserve the road and make it more accessible to the public as well as emergency services. Filling the potholes can reinforce crumbling sections of the road as well as prevent further damage to the original road surface.
The Ridge Route Pothole Project will begin in spring of 2024.
These improvements don’t only serve to protect the history of the Ridge Route, the repairs will also serve everyone who passes through the area. It’s a large stretch of open land that provides recreation for hikers, cyclists and hunters as well as being a heavy fire danger area. It’s important that emergency vehicles have quick and easy access when mere seconds matter.
A donation of $15 buys a 50 pound bag of asphalt cold patch.
Some good news for the road. It looks like we will be getting approval for our pothole repair project from the USFS in the very near future. As winter is approaching, we intend to do this project when weather permits, likely early next year. We are also working with the USFS on gate repair and landslide mitigation. The latter, regarding the landslide on the south end of the roadway, will take a while but we will prevail as we have in the past. More updates will be posted soon, so make sure to subscribe to our site if you haven’t already. We need your support to keep these projects going!
On another note, we will be needing a new RRPO Board Secretary. Our current secretary, Richard Schwartz, is retiring from his position and has served the RRPO well during his tenure. If you’d like to apply for this position, please contact us and we can talk. We can use your help!
Last weekend, we took a trip over the Ridge Route to assess damage caused by Tropical Storm Hilary. According to the LA County Department of Public Works, Sandberg and Castaic received a little over 4 inches of rain during the storm. Most of this fell in a day, which is a lot for that area. We were concerned additional damage may have occurred to the road. We were pleasantly surprised by what we found.
The storm itself caused little damage to the roadway with few exceptions. Most of the damage was localized to three locations, the Spring 2023 landslide at the south end, Swede’s Cut, and near the Liebre Maintenance Camp site. With the exception of one site, all the work that had been done at our CUTRR events was successful. The drains we cleared remained clear and worked well. We wish to thank all that have helped us with our events. We couldn’t do it without you all. We need to continue this work as well as other restoration work as time permits. Dates for upcoming events will be announced soon.
Landslide from Spring 2023. This has moved a bit more since May 2023.
Swede’s Cut in August 2023. This was cleared earlier this year but the recent storm caused more debris to collect. Still passable but narrow.
North of Reservoir Summit, the roadway degrades in quality a few times. The most notable is about 0.5 miles north of Reservoir Summit where a large amount of debris has washed down from the slope above. The drains are mostly intact with some partly blocked. Two larger mudslides partly block the roadway as well, adding to the debris problem by blocking drainage. We are working on a solution for this, which will likely be using a blade to clear the road.
Just north of Reservoir Summit, looking south.
One of the larger debris cones partially blocking the roadway. These are from earlier this year and were augmented by the tropical storm.
The northern end of the roadway from the Tumble Inn to Sandbergs is still open to traffic after the storm. However, it is not recommended for standard autos or lower clearance vehicles at this time due to the increased amount of debris on the roadway. One location in particular, shown in the photo below, makes it nearly impassible for such vehicles.
Debris crossing the roadway near Liebre Maintenance Camp. This was the site of one of our CUTRR events in October 2021. Our work did help for a while but an ever-increasing amount of sediment has once again blocked the roadway. The drain, which we cleared at that time, has remained in good shape.
Heading north toward Sandbergs, a few locations where the pavement was breaking up were noted. We are working with the USFS to get these repaired, even on a temporary basis, in the very near future.
At Horseshoe Bend, a large pothole is forming which we intend to repair as soon as possible.
Concrete and asphalt breaking up near Liebre Summit. This is one of the worst sites we plan to repair. The winter storms and the tropical storm have made this section a lot worse.
The Ridge Route Preservation Organization is looking to repair potholes in the particularly rough sections by Granite Gate and Horseshoe Bend. With intent to preserve the road and make it more accessible to the public as well as emergency services.
In search of a person or company that has experience filling potholes, willing to advise and help with process and materials. Looking for volunteers interested in restoring the Old Ridge Route.
