Hidden below I-5 just north of Valencia Blvd next to a drainage basin, a bit of US 99 history remains in Santa Clarita, California. A culvert, dating to 1929, has survived through an expressway upgrade in 1949, freeway construction in 1967, bridge replacement construction in 2001, and current widening work in 2022. How much longer it will last is unknown but so far it has withstood the test of time.
In 1948/49 US 99 was widened to 4 lanes from Lyons Ave /Pico Canyon Rd to CASTAIC Junction (where US 99 met CA 126 NOT Saugus Junction as Saugus is on ther side of Santa Clarita Valley north of Newhall – the Saugus Railroad depot was near today’s intersection of Railroad Ve. & Magic Mountain Pkwy
Jeff Ainsworth
US 99 was indeed widened from Lyons / Pico to Castaic Junction. Saugus Junction was the name for where I-5 and Magic Mountain Pkwy (former State 126) meet. US 99 had bypassed Saugus proper in 1930 via the Newhall Alternate, to which this culvert was constructed for.
So what function did that serve? Did a road go thru it? Water?
US 99, now I-5, went over the culvert. It only served to allow water to pass under the roadway.