Portions of the road developed a death reputation, such as Dead Man s Curve near Fort Tejon. On this Highway, 31 people died in accidents between 1921

Transcription

1 The difficulties in travel from Northern to Southern California were causing the State to seriously consider breaking into two separate states, with the mountain barrier being the dividing line where Southern California begins. People in the north felt separate from people in the south. From 1860 onward, there were about 30 movements trying to do this. State Highway systems began to be proposed to address this connection problem. In the 1910s, power transmission between north and south became important as the need increased to connect the utilities infrastructure. One of the nation s largest oil fields is located at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley at Taft and Maricopa area. An oil pipeline passed from there through Grapevine Canyon and on to San Pedro. The General Pipe Line Company completed an oil pipeline with an alignment which followed what would become the route of the first freeway (the Ridge Route Highway). The Midway Gas Company opened a natural gas line and the Pacific Light and Power Company opened a power line, both also staying fairly close to this same route. In 1915, the first freeway was opened between Bakersfield and Los Angeles, healing that rift between north and south and making California the powerful state it is today. This unifying effect of this Highway has been compared to the effect which the 1950 s Federal interstate highway program made on the nation. The Ridge Route Highway, known officially as the Castaic-Tejon Route, began as a 15-foot wide dirt road ribbon that wound over mountain ridges and through canyons. The workers used primitive mule-drawn Fresno dirt scrapers (invented in Fresno California), without blasting, to zigzag from ridge top to ridge top, wrapping the road around hills to minimize earth moving. After five years of hard labor, the finished road had 697 curves, forcing drivers to make 110 complete circles as they crossed the mountains, traveling 36 miles from Castaic to the Grapevine. Travel on the Ridge Route from Castaic to Bakersfield took all day, limited by a 15 mile per hour speed law. Its $1.2 million cost was covered by a 1909 bond issue that taxpayers did not pay off until It was considered the Cadillac of the superhighways, an engineering marvel. It became the first paved road in the area, becoming a 20-foot wide 2-lane highway from 1917 to The Ridge Route fueled the tourism that put Los Angeles on the map starting in 1920s. On this route, the automobile riders passed by dozens of inns, cafes, and service stations existing solely to provide for their traveling needs as the curves and terrain were rough on brakes and engines. The rich and famous passed up most of these businesses, having as their destination the famous Hotel Lebec. Throughout the 1920 s and 1930 s, the remote roadside rest stops and cabins developed a reputation for being hideouts for gangsters, brothels, and speakeasies where one could buy and sell liquor during prohibition. Also, because vehicles had to travel at slow speeds, highway robbers and carjackers would run alongside and just jump onto the vehicle. It was common for truck drivers to hire young men to ride on the running board to prevent such robberies.

2 Portions of the road developed a death reputation, such as Dead Man s Curve near Fort Tejon. On this Highway, 31 people died in accidents between 1921 and 1928, many from runaway trucks or cars failing to negotiate turns. In the time of the Ridge Route freeway, the American Automobile Association first patrolled the route, assisting motorists and putting up safety signs. They called themselves the Highway Patrol Service. The history of the California Highway Patrol begins in August, 1929, with a state legislative act. They took over the name of Patrol. Early CHP officers were referred to, jokingly, as the AAA with a badge or Auto Club with a gun. Conditions for traffic officers were dangerous in the early years. Most rode their motorcycles on the rough, primitive roads. Officers then did not have radios and were on their own when confronting hostile suspects. Many of the officers died while performing their duties. Howard Garlinger, from Kern County, was the first officer to die in the line of duty, this occurring on October 30, 1929, in Bakersfield due to automobile accident and suffering fatal head injuries (only soft caps were worn then, no helmets). The first CHP office along the old Ridge Route was located in Gorman. The first official CHP station was built in 1956 near Fort Tejon. Many stories of the travelers of this area are recorded first hand by these freeway protectors. The Ridge Route was replaced in 1933 by a straighter 3-lane known as the alternative Ridge Route or Highway 99. With this freeway, the businesses of the Ridge Route Highway closed down. In 1997, a significant 17.6 mile segment of the Ridge Route was added to the National Registrar of Historic Places, achieved through the efforts of Harrison Scott. This is the portion which lies within the boundaries of the Angeles National Forest and which has not been altered by the changes made when later freeways replaced this route. It is rare for a road to be granted this Federal protection (the only other Historic roadway is the Redwood Highway north of San Francisco), but received this distinction as it has exceptional historic value as the first major link between California s north and south. It is now eligible for federal funding to aid in its historical preservation. Most people using the road today are the petroleum and electric utility employees working on pipes and power poles. Highway 99 was 500 feet lower than the Ridge Route, about 10 miles shorter in distance from Castaic to Tejon Pass and eliminated 593 curves, allowing traffic to travel at 50 miles per hour. Eight bridges of the latest design were built over creeks and gorges. Mountains were cut through and moved with more modern equipment. Seventy times more dirt was moved than for the Ridge Route. The dirt was used to fill in natural canyons. Native American burials were unearthed and had to be moved. Deadman s Curve was bypassed in Grapevine Canyon. The channel of the Piru Creek was moved a quarter of a mile from its natural site. The Grapevine Creek and canyon were realigned, causing the relocation of three gas lines, three oil lines, and two power transmission lines. While the Ridge Route was known for its scenic beauty, the new Golden State Highway became known for its speed for travelling. Trucks gained such high speeds that pile-ups of wrecked trucks became a new danger. Also, as a result of the freeway design of a middle passing lane, it wasn t long before the National Safety Council called this road one of the world s most dangerous highways.

3 Many vehicles began zooming at 100 miles per hour, passing the established businesses so that many businesses closed. The once second most populated area in Southern California became more of a rest-stop for bathroom breaks and auto needs. But Gorman was not as affected by the road changes and a Greyhound Bus station was added there (until 1977). The community of Lebec also continued to grow. Due to the dangers and frequent wrecks, Highway 99 was converted in 1947 to a 4-lane divided expressway. Work began at the Grapevine section and required much more geologic work due to lack of earth stability in the mountain formations. Mountains and gorges were blasted away and heavy buttress fills put in their place. In 1960, this freeway, now called the Grapevine freeway, was opened all the way to Castaic. 12,000 vehicles a day were using the route. However, beginning in 1960, as soon as the conversion was completed, the Grapevine area began improvements, with the Interstate 5 freeway system. This freeway was designed to reduce grades even more, to increase the road s safety. Also, to accommodate the traffic through this area, it was designed to be 8-lanes. This is the only rural area in which the I-5 has 8 lanes. In the Grapevine area, many ancient oaks were sacrificed for the new freeway. The communities of Oak Glen and Camp Tejon were removed. The steep rocky hillsides of Grapevine Canyon were cut back and sloped for two miles. Grapevine Creek was channeled into a ten-foot by eight-foot enclosed culvert for 9,000 feet of its course, located under the roadbed. Utility infrastructure all had to be relocated: 3 gaslines, 4 oil lines, high tension power lines and telephone poles. The southern section of Highway 99 was severed with the construction of the Pyramid Dam (part of the California Aqueduct system), being replaced by 1968 with the I-5 freeway. Remaining southern portions of the 99 have been renamed Smokey Bear Road (Peace Valley Road) and is the access to the Hungry Valley SVRA, founded in 1980, and being the State s second largest off-highway vehicular recreation area (largest is Ocotillo Wells near Borrego Springs in San Diego County). Another small section of old Highway 99 is at Gorman. The California Aqueduct (construction beginning in 1963) splits into an East Branch and a West Branch in these mountains. The West Branch heads over to Quail Lake, Pyramid Lake and down to the Castaic Reservoir with a hydro power plant between Pyramid and Castaic. The California Aqueduct Bikeway was the longest of the paved paths in the Los Angeles area, at 107 miles (172 km) long from Quail Lake near Gorman through the desert to Silverwood Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains. This path was closed in 1988 due to bicyclist safety and liability issues. In February, 1967, a cement plant was established east of Gorman to provide concrete for the water aqueducts (Feather River), plants, tunnels and dams along the southern route as well as the eight-lane Interstate highway being built at the same time. At that same time, North America s only active tin mine was in operation east of the cement plant. The product was shipped to Wilmington for being turned into cassiterite concentrate and then shipped to England for smelting into pure tin. (Kern County is the State s leading mineral producing county.)

4 By 1970, travel had increased to 60,000 vehicles a day through the Grapevine area. Today, it is 80,000 per day and the I-5 is the most heavily traveled highway in the U.S. Still, in the mountain area, natural perils continue for drivers due to snow, fog, heavy rain, mud slides, and dust storms. As the mountain area moves into year 2016 and beyond, there are significant environmental issues which continue to demand attention. Within the San Emigdio Mountains are three major earthquake fault lines which go through or converge there. One of the world's largest faults, the San Andreas Fault, runs in a north/south direction through the entire range. The Garlock Fault comes from the northeast and connects with the San Andreas just east of Frazier Park. The Big Pine Fault comes in from the northwest, meeting the San Andreas at the community of Lake of the Woods. Signs of fault activity, such as crevices, mounds, uplifts, etc., are easily recognizable throughout these mountains. A concern surrounds the utilities infrastructures which connect Northern and Southern California, (many going through Tejon Ranch), that an earthquake will rupture the gas, power, and oil lines, and dump oil into the Pyramid Lake reservoir, affecting water for millions of people. Further, the increase in vehicular travel creates air pollution which affects the inhabitants (human and animal) of the mountain areas, even sometimes preventing local use of natural resources (i.e., wood burning) due to air quality control factors. The proposed planned cities will create more air control problems. Also, due to the sensitive natural environmental issues with animals and plants, many major activities now require evaluative surveys by trained naturalists and ecobiologists that continue to safeguard natural life as technologies come into our area (solar energy, etc.).

5