Ridge Route - Description

Description

The official limits of the Ridge Route, as built in the 1910s, were State Route 126 at Castaic Junction and the bottom of the grade at Grapevine. At that time, the road from San Fernando to Castaic Junction passed through the Newhall Tunnel at San Fernando Pass and ran along San Fernando Road, Magic Mountain Parkway (both part of State Route 126 until the early 2000s), and Feedmill Road to a former bridge over the Santa Clara River. A 1930 bypass of the tunnel and Newhall through Weldon Canyon is now part of The Old Road.

From Castaic Junction north to Castaic, the old Ridge Route has been largely buried by construction of the Ridge Route Alternate and Interstate 5. The split of the old Ridge Route and the Alternate at Castaic is now the intersection of Castaic Road and Neely Street, which dead-ends just shy of Ridge Route Road. The first piece of Ridge Route Road out of Castaic has been rebuilt and realigned as recently as the late 1990s, when the North Lake housing development was built. The road begins to climb after passing North Lake; a portion was straightened in 1924, and now lies next to the southbound lanes of I-5. In this area, known as the Five-Mile Grade, the four-lane Ridge Route Alternate was converted into the northbound lanes of I-5, while the added four-lane alignment, built to the east (next to the old Ridge Route), was built with better grades, and became the southbound (downhill) lanes to reduce issues with runaway trucks. Because traffic drives on the right side of the road in the U.S., two bridges had to be built to enable traffic to cross over to the left side. Near the north end of this area, the Ridge Route curves away from the newer bypass.

The road enters the Angeles National Forest about 1 mile (2 km) south of Templin Highway, with the Forest Service road designation 8N04. A number of establishments were located in the forest, including the National Forest Inn, Kelly's Half Way Inn, Tumble Inn, and Sandberg's Summit Hotel.

The National Forest Inn (34°37′01″N 118°42′03″W / 34.6170°N 118.7008°W / 34.6170; -118.7008 (National Forest Inn)) was located on the west side of the road. One of the more popular places along the route, and composed of white clapboard buildings, it was described in a 1932 highway beautification pamphlet as "the sort of filling station that gets into a national forest and is no addition thereto". On February 14, 1932, a fire began in the garage, and took over a day to put out. Due to the construction of the Ridge Route Alternate, bypassing the site to the west, the inn was not rebuilt, and all that remains are concrete steps.

2 miles (3 km) north of the National Forest Inn is Serpentine Drive (34°38′20″N 118°43′08″W / 34.639°N 118.719°W / 34.639; -118.719 (Serpentine Drive)), where the road curves around the sides of hills as it climbs out of a low point in the route (about 3200 feet/1000 m above sea level). North of the curves, the road passes through Swede's Cut (34°38′24″N 118°43′19″W / 34.640°N 118.722°W / 34.640; -118.722 (Swede's Cut)), also called Big Cut, Culebra Excavation, or Castaic Cut. The cut was the largest on the route, with a depth of 110 feet (34 m).

Reservoir Summit (34°39′47″N 118°43′30″W / 34.663°N 118.725°W / 34.663; -118.725 (Reservoir Summit)), also called Reservoir Hill, is 3883 feet (1184 m) above sea level. The Reservoir Summit Café was a popular high-class restaurant on the east side of the road, closed in the late 1920s; the foundation remains. The summit was named after a now-dry reservoir, one of three probably built for the concrete used in paving the road.

Kelly's Half Way Inn (34°40′59″N 118°43′44″W / 34.683°N 118.729°W / 34.683; -118.729 (Half Way Inn)) was roughly halfway between Los Angeles and Bakersfield - 62 and 64 mi (100 and 103 km) respectively. Located on a small knoll with a single tree on the east side of the road, all that remains is remnants of the foundation.

Tumble Inn, later Mountain View Lodge (34°42′29″N 118°43′16″W / 34.708°N 118.721°W / 34.708; -118.721 (Tumble Inn)), was on the west side of the road, and closed when the Ridge Route Alternate opened in 1933. Steps, including the top step with "TUMBLE INN" in the concrete. and a retaining wall remain.

Sandberg's Summit Hotel (34°44′28″N 118°42′36″W / 34.741°N 118.710°W / 34.741; -118.710 (Sandberg's Summit Hotel)), later Sandberg's Lodge, was located just north of Liebre Summit (34°43′54″N 118°42′51″W / 34.7317°N 118.7143°W / 34.7317; -118.7143 (Liebre Summit)), the highest point (4233 feet/1290 m) on the road, at 4170 feet (1271 m) above sea level. The hotel was built in 1914, and thus served travelers from the opening of the road in 1915. Built of logs, it was a high-class hotel. The place, which had become a ceramics factory, burned down on April 29, 1961 from a fire started by the new owner — who was converting it into a "camp-type operation" for underprivileged children—burning trash in the fireplace. The lease from the U.S. Forest Service was canceled in 1963, and only portions of the foundation and a rock wall remain. The name "Sandberg" is still used by the National Weather Service for an automated weather station a short distance to the north at Pine Canyon Road. Pine Canyon Road - County Route N2 - marks the end of the forest and the beginning of county maintenance, and CR N2 uses the old Ridge Route to reach State Route 138 near Quail Lake.

The Ridge Route crosses the West Branch California Aqueduct with SR 138, splitting to the northwest on Gorman Post Road. It rejoins the path of I-5 at Gorman, and, from Gorman to the end at Grapevine, most of the old road has been covered over by the Ridge Route Alternate or I-5. The path of the Ridge Route is now named Peace Valley Road and Lebec Road, passing over Tejon Pass and past Lebec and Fort Tejon. Past Fort Tejon, the route descends through Grapevine Canyon to Grapevine (named for grapevines in the area). The best-known curve on the road, Deadman's Curve or Death Curve (34°53′10″N 118°54′22″W / 34.886°N 118.906°W / 34.886; -118.906 (Deadman's Curve)), is visible from Digier Road on the west side of I-5. The next part of old road to still exist is near the bottom of the grade, where a number of curves (34°55′34″N 118°55′23″W / 34.926°N 118.923°W / 34.926; -118.923 (curves)) brought the road down to Grapevine. The original plan was to build the road nearer to the center of the canyon, but a March 1914 flood destroyed the work, and the grading was redone higher up. Deadman's Curve and the Grapevine loops were both bypassed by the Ridge Route Alternate, which was built directly over most of the old road in this area. At Grapevine, the land suddenly flattens out, and the road north of Grapevine was the longest straight section of road in the state - 17 miles (27 km) - in 1926. Most of this road lies under I-5 and State Route 99, but the southernmost piece in Grapevine was bypassed by the Alternate, and is now in the median of I-5.