I5 - Old Ridge Route Castaic (1471a)

Continuing across the newer cut, from the adjacent picture, it looks as if the original highway followed very closely along the edge of the slope. There was a section of fenced off land that suggested the possible contour of the highway, but the only evidence of it was the concrete seen in this picture. The terrain suggested that this was an area particularly subject to landslides and the original highway may have been covered by a landslide. Even the contemporary road in this area had patches that suggested that sections had slid down the slope.

The Ridge Route was the first paved highway linking the Los Angeles area to the San Joaquin valley. The first road was built in 1915 and was concrete. These seemingly boring pictures document part of what was the Ridge Route, specifically the section just north of Castaic and going to the Templin Highway. This is only a small portion of the Ridge Route, the northern sections are temporarily closed due to damage from fires and landslides.