Dedicated to the preservation of California's Main Street – former US Highway 99
Author: Michael Ballard
I am the founder of the Historic Highway 99 Association of California. I am also the author and administrator of the "Southern California Regional Rocks and Roads" website at https://socalregion.com, since 1995. I have been studying the geology and highway history throughout southern California for most of my life. I am also the President of the Ridge Route Preservation Organization.
Development in some places is inevitable. How some have lasted as long as they have and being relatively untouched is rather amazing. A section of US 99 known as The Old Road in Santa Clarita between Castaic Junction (Route 126) and Magic Mountain Parkway will be widened in the very near future with two historic bridges being replaced. Los Angeles County announced that the work is finally funded and will commence soon. The 1929 Santa Clara River Bridge and Santa Clara Overhead will be replaced likely starting in the next year or so. The remaining section, a rare section of 1948 expressway with oleander in the median, will be replaced with a six-lane generic roadway.
Use this opportunity to get as many photos and video of what remains! We need to do what we can to preserve the history of US 99 for the future however we can.
In honor of the 95th anniversary of the opening of the Ridge Route Alternate, we have posted a video on the Channel Change in Piru Gorge. Learn all about it on our YouTube channel!
We are hosting a meeting on our Palm and Pine project as well as an update on the status of the highway widening project. There will be a short presentation followed by a question and answer period. If you’d like to get involved or learn more about the project, I recommend attending. The meeting will be held on Thursday, August 29, 2024 at 6 pm via Zoom. If you are unable to attend, we are planning to record the meeting, which will be posted to our YouTube channel soon afterward.
We look forward to seeing you all there! Join us and Learn More!
We are looking for volunteers to help create a design for a Pine and Palm shirt and stickers to help promote and spread awareness of the historic landmark before it goes away in early 2026. The design should incorporate both trees, a US 99 shield, and something to the affect of “Where the Palm Meets the Pine”, “Heart of California”, and “Historic Highway 99 Association of California”. As it will be your design, feel free to include some sort of signature or initials on the design to mark them as from you. If you have a different idea, let us know! We look forward to seeing what you all come up with.
Your design should be submitted by September 15, 2024. The winner will be chosen by members of the Association by October 1, 2024. The winner will receive a $30 gift card to the Historic Saugus Cafe in Santa Clarita and the Second Place winner will receive a $5 gift card to the Saugus Cafe. Both will receive a free one-year membership to the Association.
All submissions should be in either JPG or similar format. Please don’t submit proprietary file formats.
Good Luck and Thank you for your continued support! We can’t do this without you! Use the form below to submit your e-mail address to send your submission to us.
I wanted to give some updates on the Pine and Palm. I recently had a meeting with Caltrans District 6 to discuss the project and what our intentions are for the landmark trees.
Signage
We explained that, while we appreciated and liked their idea of planting more trees along the southbound side of the roadway, we would like to see a marker or sign placed in both directions to help commemorate the site and increase public awareness of the landmark itself. They agreed this would be a good idea in concept but were uncertain if it could gain approval as the signs as proposed may not be MUTCD compliant. The main issue was with the graphics of the pine and palm itself, as they are not standard for signage. Should the sign be approved, that portion of the sign would likely have to be removed. There is precedent for such a sign in Oregon which marks the 45th Parallel along I-5. The Pine and Palm are similar in nature, though not as specific, so that should help us in our quest for approval. We look forward to finding a way to make this happen.
Median Barrier
Caltrans also is looking into putting something on the median barrier itself, which has been done in many other locations through the state. These, in addition to the signs and new trees, should help mark the site and its significance. We are confident we can make something happen at the Pine and Palm site, even if it takes longer than construction.
Existing Trees
The existing trees may not likely survive, unfortunately, due to the problems of moving such plants. If they are moved, those accepting the trees may have to bear the costs of the move, which can be prohibitive to some. Their disposition isn’t likely to be known for a while and we will try to keep everyone informed as to where they end up. For now, we have until early 2026 before they are torn down, so make sure to enjoy them while they last.
The Caltrans project calls for planting 15 new pine and palm trees along the southbound side of the roadway 330 feet south of the existing location.
Caltrans Proposal for new trees in relation to the existing trees
Design Help
As a side note, we are looking for an artist to design a “Pine and Palm” logo for placement on t-shirts and stickers which we’d like to sell. Let us know if you’re interested in helping us with this project. We are looking to get things started soon.
