A while back, I found a really interesting presentation on dams throughout California. Everything from records to failures is covered. I encourage all interested to check it out.
All posts by Michael F Ballard
San Diego Electric Railway #11 line at El Cajon Blvd
Recent utility work on Park Blvd has indirectly revealed that the tracks for the former SDERy #11 line (Downtown to Kensington via Park and Adams) are still buried beneath Park Blvd, at least at El Cajon Blvd. Looking at video from 1970 of Park Blvd wasn’t really helpful in spotting the tracks as they seem to have been paved over quite well even back then.
However, despite not being physically uncovered, their presence is still made known. Crews, marking various services underneath the roadway, also marked “Railroad Tracks” on Park Blvd. Two sets in fact, which is pretty cool. Maybe they’ll be unearthed in the near future.
General Updates – May 2020
The last couple of months have definitely been interesting in many ways. I had planned to hold a Clean Up The Ridge Route event this weekend, but those plans were delayed. I had hoped to travel a bit more, including flying out to Phoenix to be at my husband’s graduation ceremony. Well… as the whole planet is aware, things have gone awry in many ways. Some of them have been a bit more positive on my end at least. Instead of coming home after graduation, my husband came home in early April and completed his schooling online. Now, he has a Master’s in Computer Engineering. I have been working at home as well, which has been somewhat nice. I say somewhat, as it was nice to at least get out more often. I can’t beat the commute though!
The one thing this whole situation has allowed me to do has been to get some much needed work and updates done to this site. I’ve been adding photos, maps, and some pages to my US 6, US 99, and Ridge Route tours. The Grapevine Canyon page on the US 99 tour has had quite a bit added to it. I’ve also added quite a few photos to my Southern California Highways pages. My geology pages have also been getting a bit of attention. This situation has given me a bit more opportunity to go through my archives in a bit more detail and add them to the site when possible. In time, I plan to add a lot more maps to the site overall, as it is one thing it is really lacking.
I did want to say that this situation, while frustrating at times, is temporary. We may not go back to whatever we called normal for some time, but do we really want to? This is an opportunity to make some real and positive changes to how we handle so many things. If nothing else, it has taught us that we really need to upgrade our digital infrastructure. I do look forward to returning to some level of normalcy, such as a monthly trip over the Ridge Route, going to wineries, and visiting the Wisteria Candy Cottage for some of the best chocolates and fudge in San Diego County. All will need our support and more after this is over. If you have a favorite business that is presently closed, be sure to tell them via e-mail or phone how you feel. They need to hear it!
East Los Angeles Interchange Signage
In 1958, when the East Los Angeles Interchange started to be built, the routes that were planned to go through it were a little different that what is there today. I-10 was originally to be State 26 and I-5 was a part of US 99. US 101 remained the same. State 60 was to be State 26. The routing of the interstates through cities wasn’t quite settled yet and many of the roads were planned to be State or US routes.
After the signs were installed, some of them were temporarily overlaid until the Pomona Freeway connections were completed. A portion of the original route planned for that freeway, State 26, was visible. While some have speculated it was actually US 60 underneath there, reverting to State 60 after the 1964 route renumbering, these plans show otherwise. How far east the State Route 26 signage would have gone does remain unknown. It is likely it would have gone at least as far as the 57, if not all the way to the 71, as US 60 was effectively terminated at the present junction of I-10 and State 71 about 1960.
For additional photos and information about the interchange, head on over to the East Los Angeles Interchange page.
From the Archives – 1956
The first section of the San Diego Freeway in San Diego (US 101 at the time) to be constructed was the Mission Bay Bypass in 1954. Elements of this construction can still be seen today, such as some older curbing at the intersection of Damon Ave and Santa Fe St. North and south of this small section of freeway, it was still a narrower four-lane roadway with some expressway sections. Between 1966 (north) and 1969 (south), the adjacent sections were constructed, completing I-5 in the City of San Diego.