A well-photographed portion of the Ridge Route, known as the Callahan Line Change, is now a part of the Virtual Tour of the Ridge Route. This is a section that had become somewhat obscure because of later freeway construction. For more detailed information –
Category Archives: US 99
Featured Image – 1/19/2020
Featured Image – 12/23/2019
Here at Grapevine, a small section of concrete is visible adjacent to the southbound lanes of I-5. This is a section of former US 99. A small color difference can be noticed between the two lanes that are visible. This difference is due to age. The lanes to the left were constructed in 1932 when Grapevine Grade was realigned, bypassing the original 1914 Ridge Route grade. This was built as two lanes as a temporary measure to expedite the opening of the new route. Right after it was opened, a third lane was added, the lane on the right, creating a three-lane roadway with a common passing lane in the center, or “suicide lane”. This condition persisted until 1943 when the road was widened yet again to four lanes. In 1959 – 1960, these lanes were bypassed by the current southbound lanes of I-5. Today, they remain as one of the last remnants of the 1932-1959 version of Grapevine Grade.
Ridge Route Update
From the Ridge Route Preservation Organization:
Finally, some good news! While it is not finalized at the time of this writing, our Volunteer Service Agreement is nearing completion. We got a copy today to review and so far, things look quite promising. We will also be getting a key to the gate, which means we will have access to the road. Our first act, after getting the key, is to do a preliminary survey of the road to assess the general condition of the roadway and determine what needs to be worked on prior to the upcoming rainy season.
What this means is that we are planning to do work on the Ridge Route in late Spring 2020, after the rains have subsided. Details on this event will be posted once we get a bit more information together and work out what the event will entail. The agreement does have a few stipulations, mostly regarding how our events will be held and what we can do during them. One of those is that we need to give a list of all attendees prior to an event, as such we will be expecting all persons attending to let us know before they attend.
So, things are looking up for the Ridge Route. Work is still in progress regarding Forest Service maintenance, right-of-way, and land ownership issues. Those will take a while but I have confidence they will be resolved in due time. In the mean time, plan on going on the road in late Spring 2020 and prepare to work!
Updates to Highway Logs
As a way to keep track of the immense amount of data regarding old highways, I created highway logs to store the data. They were originally designed after 1940’s state highway logs from the Division of Highways. I have made them available on this website on my Site Documents page. The logs for US 6 and US 99 have recently been updated and have been uploaded.
- US 6 Route Log – Newhall Pass to the Nevada State Line near Benton, CA
- US 99 Route Log – Mexican Border at Calexico, CA to Delano, CA