99 Alert – Calimesa Area

Roberts Road, highlighted in orange, between Cherry Valley Blvd and Singleton Road

A section of US 99 in Calimesa, Riverside County, with concrete dating to 1925, is in danger of being destroyed and forgotten due to developments on the adjacent land. Known as Roberts Road, running for nearly 3/4 mile between Cherry Valley Blvd and Singleton Road, has the last intact and exposed concrete between Yucaipa and Whitewater. This was US 99 from 1926-1937.

As the roadway is to be realigned to the south, we propose making this into a recreational path or at least preserving the contractors date stamps in the paving. This is a treasure that needs to live on.

Looking easterly along Roberts Road
One of the intact stamps from May 9, 1925.

Contact the City of Calimesa, tell them the Historic Highway 99 Association of California sent you and that you don’t want this section destroyed! Show your support for preserving what is left of US 99 in that area.

City of Calimesa Contacts:

Main Website – http://www.cityofcalimesa.net/

909-795-9801 – Main number
City Manager – Bonnie Johnson – bjohnson@cityofcalimesa.net
909-795-9801 x239

Planning Commission – Agency in charge of planning
Area is under the “Summerland Ranch Specific Plan”

Membership Coming

While we aren’t currently a membership organization, we will be soon. Our plan is to implement memberships once we get our 501c3 status in the next couple of months. The new membership structure, what is involved with each level, and what benefits there may be are still being investigated. We will also be looking into discounts at various museums related to 99 as a benefit to membership. More information will be given as it gets closer.

If you are interested in becoming a member, please subscribe to the site. All updates will be automatically sent to you.

Current Signage on 99

We need your help! We are working on a list of all cities that currently have Historic Route 99 signage, in any form. Our list so far is below. Let us know if it is incomplete. For a key to our regions, see this link – HH99AC Regions.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Region 1:

  • Weed
  • Mt. Shasta City
  • Dunsmuir
  • Mountain Gate
  • Shasta Lake
  • Red Bluff
  • Chico
  • Williams

Region 2

  • Pending

Region 3

  • Bakersfield

Region 4

  • Los Angeles
  • Burbank
  • Indio
  • Calexico

99 Alert – Saugus

Saugus Cafe Needs Your Help!

The Saugus Cafe, which has been in business for 132 years, is in danger of closing. With the ongoing crisis, business has slowed and restrictions are in place making it tougher than ever. This restaurant is a part of the history of Santa Clarita and US 99. It is located at 25861 Railroad Avenue (formerly San Fernando Road) in Santa Clarita, California. As a kid, I always enjoyed going there and getting a seat near the window so I could watch the trains go by. I was last able to stop there in January 2020. It isn’t truly a Ridge Route trip without it, as it is the LAST place that is still around that dates to that era AND is along the route.

If you’d like to help save this historic restaurant and learn more, KHTS radio has a detailed article here. The Saugus Cafe has also started a “GoFundMe” account. If you are in the area, please stop by the restaurant and show your support! We need places like this to keep going, as without we lose a part of our heritage and a connection to the past.

Upcoming Projects

With the holidays and lockdowns in place, starting our projects will unfortunately be a bit slow. Come 2021 however, things will shift into “high gear” and we will be pressing various projects forward. Right now, we are focusing on smaller projects, partly to get started and see how it goes, mostly to make solid progress sooner than later. With that in mind, here is a list of projects we are planning to start in the first half of 2021:

Signing
Fundraising efforts will be needed for each project

Calexico – 04IMP21001 – Replace existing faded signage at the END / BEGIN point of US 99

Banning / Beaumont – 04RIV21001 – Implement new signage along 6th St (Beaumont) and Ramsey St (Banning). Possibly work with Caltrans to get signage at end interchanges (I-10 Exit 93 and I-10 Exit 102).

Ontario – 04SBD21001 – Implement new signage along Holt Ave between Benson Ave and I-10 Exit 55A.

Administration

Outreach Coordinator – Recruit new Outreach Coordinator to help implement our Statewide outreach projects and manage Regional Coordinators

Regional Coordinators – Recruit new Regional Coordinators for Region 1 (Northern California), Region 3 (San Joaquin Valley), and Region 4 (Southern California)

Contact us for additional information about any of these projects. If you are interested in getting involved with any of these, let us know! We’d love to hear from you.

Contact Information