The Historic Highway 99 Association of California just received approval for posting Historic Route 99 signs within the City of Madera. This exciting news! If you’d like to donate, they have set up a fundraiser on their site.
Category Archives: Highways
Fire on the Ridge Route
There is currently a fire, #RouteFire, burning on the Ridge Route near Templin Highway. I-5 is closed both directions and the Old Ridge Route may be in danger. For information, follow the Twitter feed for the Ridge Route Preservation Organization – @ridgeroute99.
Featured Image – 9/4/2021
In 1949, La Cienega Blvd was extended through the Baldwin Hills. This roadway was eventually to become a part of the State Route 170 Laurel Canyon Freeway. Interchanges and grade separations were built with this in mind. Access to the roadway was also controlled, making it easier to upgrade the roadway to a full freeway in the future. It became the only section constructed not long after.
Today, the roadway remains as a freeway and expressway-grade roadway through those hills acting as a “cutoff” for travelers coming from the westside of Los Angeles to the airport area. The photo above shows the interchange between La Cienega Blvd (right-left) and Slauson Ave in 1967. The photo was taken as a part of a study for a freeway routing for State Route 90, another stub freeway nearby. That freeway gained the moniker of the “Slauson Cutoff” by Johnny Carson.
Los Angeles may be known as “The Land of Freeways” but many of those freeway dreams didn’t come to pass. This is an example of one of those.
For further information:
September 2021 Presentation
Join the Historic Highway 99 Association of California for a presentation on the history of US 99 and the Newhall Pass on September 14, 2021 at 6pm via Zoom. The history of the roadway will be covered from the Newhall Tunnel in 1910 to the HOV ramp at the I-5 / State 14 interchange in 2012. Q&A to follow the presentation. Please register using the link below.
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrc–rpzIoGdxQYOYkViOpSZQHqw2rEpl1
Featured Image – 8/9/2021
The old Ridge Route is my favorite roadway. Each trip is an adventure and I always seem to find something new. Sometimes those “new” things aren’t as exciting as they could be. In January 2021, a large rockslide was found just south of Swede’s Cut. On August 28, the Ridge Route Preservation Organization will be holding an event to remove that rockslide. They need your help and support. See their website for details on how you can help. Not only will you be able to go beyond the gates and see parts of the Ridge Route that are normally closed, but you will be able to help maintain it as well.