A look back to happier times in the San Gabriel Mountains. Taken on August 22, 2009, just a few days before the Station Fire started. Over the past few days, this section of the mountains has burned in the Bobcat Fire, which is ongoing.
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.
In December 2019 and January 2020, I had the chance to take a couple of trips over the Ridge Route. Once this current situation is over, I fully intend to get back up there for a multitude of reasons. As I cannot get up there at present and we’re all still on some form of “lockdown”, I thought I’d share some of the photos I took up there. The Ridge Route is a very scenic route, far more than I-5 or even the “new” alignment of US 99. They all have their merits but the Ridge Route gets the best of the views. Just an FYI, some of these pics may be from earlier trips. Maybe you be the judge? Which is your favorite?
Care to help preserve the road? Head on over to the Ridge Route Preservation Organization to see what you can do to help and perhaps have the opportunity to traverse the Scenic and Historic Ridge Route.
This morning (2/21/2020) at 5:42 am, a small earthquake struck the Castaic area north of Los Angeles. Just looking at the maps, it seems near the San Gabriel Fault but it is a somewhat complex area. It was also a very deep earthquake as they go, 18.1 km. Shaking was felt in a wide area but wasn’t very strong.
For more information, check out the USGS Summary Page of the event.
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci39079535/executive
Looking toward South Mount Hawkins in the West Fork San Gabriel Canyon from State 39. This road was planned to be improved but landslides prevented this work from being completed. In the case of this area, almost all of the low lying areas not covered in snow are landslides in one form or another. Even Crystal Lake, where this roadway is headed, exists because of landslides.
