Ridge Route turns 100

[Kniwt]

The Fresno Bee has this report from The Bakersfield Californian on this upcoming weekend's 100th anniversary of the Ridge Route.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article37122009.html

Saturday's centennial celebration will feature an antique car show, lectures and a tour of wind-whipped Dead Man's Curve.

One hundred years ago, this was the first paved road to connect Los Angeles and Bakersfield over the Tejon Pass, according to Bonnie Ketterl Kane, curator for the Ridge Route Communities Museum & Historical Society. It was also the state's first mountain road and cost $1.5 million — more than $35 million in today's dollars.

... When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: El Tejon Middle School, 4337 Lebec Road, Lebec
Details: It will feature lectures on the road's history at 1 p.m., a vintage car show, exhibits, food, music, a raffle and souvenirs. Admission is free.

[pderocco]

Too bad it's been closed for a few years, with no likelihood of reopening. I was lucky enough to drive it a couple of times about ten years ago.

It is, however, still possible to find quite a few fragments of the Ridge Route Road further north, which is kind of fun.

[Alps]

Too bad it's been closed for a few years, with no likelihood of reopening. I was lucky enough to drive it a couple of times about ten years ago.

It is, however, still possible to find quite a few fragments of the Ridge Route Road further north, which is kind of fun.

I had the pleasure of riding the Ridge Route with Harrison Scott. The Society is trying to fix enough of it to get it reopened. Part of the problem is that there was a forest fire a couple of years ago that supposedly damaged the road. There are also a few rockslides, though they've all been bypassed with compacted gravel. The Society is working to repave the most broken or skewed slabs. Honestly, the Ridge Route is perfectly driveable as is.