In order to help make it easier to understand what is going on with the road, you have to understand what happened in the past leading up to the current issues. This timeline will help guide you through the history of the road.
1868 – Initial surveys along the future Ridge Route alignment by the County of Los Angeles, declaring a public highway over the mountains. No road constructed.
1912 – Surveys begin on the Ridge Route by the State of California.
November 1915 – Ridge Route fully open to public.
1917-1919 – Road is paved with a 20′ wide slab of concrete.
1923-1927 – Realignments and other improvements, such as asphalt overlays, constructed to facilitate easier travel.
October 29, 1933 – Ridge Route Alternate opened to traffic.
October 2, 1934 – Ridge Route formally relinquished to the County of Los Angeles
September 25, 1997 – Ridge Route, within the National Forest boundary, is placed on the National Register of Historic Places
January 18, 2001 – Ridge Route Preservation Organization incorporated.
January 2005 – Devastating storm hits the road, causing at least three major landslides which damage the road and utilities. Road is closed to the public and a forest order is created to prohibit public travel in the area.
June 30, 2005 – County of Los Angeles formally vacates the Ridge Route from near Templin Highway to Sandberg. We contend this vacation was done so improperly and we fully intend to correct this problem.
2010 – Section of roadway resurfaced between southern forest boundary to about 1.5 miles north using funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.
2013? – Land owner places signs along southern end of Ridge Route at forest boundary declaring road private.
August 2020 – Ridge Route cleared of debris and brush from Sandberg to Templin Highway for the Lake Fire suppression effort
December 2023 – RRPO Pothole Project approved by USFS
