Talk:Ridge Route

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	Ridge Route is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. If you can update or improve it, please do.
	This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on September 30, 2004.
Article Milestones Date Process Result August 3, 2004 Featured article candidate Not promoted August 31, 2004 Featured article candidate Promoted February 28, 2007 Featured article review Demoted March 20, 2007 Peer review Reviewed March 30, 2007 Featured article candidate Promoted Current Status: Featured article

Ridge Route was the U.S. Roads Article Improvement Drive for the week spanning from Wednesday, 21 February 2007. For more details, see the U.S. Roads Article Improvement Drive.

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	To-do list for Ridge Route:	edit  · history  · watch  · refresh

[edit] Old stuff- fix and restore

[edit] Driving the Ridge Route

To get to the existing fragment of the route from Los Angeles, take Interstate 5 heading north and exit where the green and white Caltrans informational sign says "Parker Road/Castaic." Proceed right at the top of the offramp—which is the location of the first street sign marked "Ridge Route." Then simply follow the road, being careful to proceed straight at marked intersections in the new suburban portion of Castaic. At Templin Highway, disregard the yellow and black advisory sign which says "not a through road." Templin Highway was built in 1968 during construction of Interstate 5 as an access road to the Castaic Power Plant, forcing a partial reroute of both the Ridge Route and Highway 99.

From the San Joaquin Valley, take I-5 south. Exit at Highway 138 toward Lancaster. The Route 138 freeway stub will narrow to one lane each direction. After passing Quail Lake—found on the north side of Route 138—turn right at the street marked "Old Ridge Route." As elevation is gained, one will enter the unmaintained area past the intersection with Pine Canyon Road (Los Angeles County Route N2). Once one has traveled the route southward to Templin Highway—a wide maintained asphalt paved road about 17 miles (27 km) south of Route 138's intersection with "Old Ridge Route"—the traveler may turn right on Templin Highway to return to the Interstate at their discretion, or continue straight on the remainder of the Ridge Route to reach Castaic. The road is in better condition south of Templin Highway, but still has many curves.

Navigating on the Ridge Route demands safe driving habits. Potholes, loose sand, debris, remnants of mudslides and rockslides and many of the aforementioned 697 curves await today's traveler. The road is not being maintained beyond its current use as a fire access road, although its historical status makes it eligible for available future funding and preservation, including signage pointing out places of note.

None of the businesses that once dotted the route remain, but tourists can catch a glimpse of the occasional wall or foundation of a long-lost building. Many of the buildings were intentionally bulldozed by the U.S. Forest Service in the 1950s and 1960s per their fire protection policy and because they were used as flophouses by transients and later by hippies, resulting in unsanitary conditions and additional fire danger. Remains of the buildings can be glimpsed in the canyons. However, a $5 (USD) National Forest Adventure Pass is required if one steps out of his or her vehicle for exploration within the forest boundaries. Driving straight through requires no pass.

[edit] New discussion

I have received the book from interlibrary loan, and will begin rewriting the article soon. --NE2 19:55, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

This is ridiculous... there was a proposed "Old Ridge Expressway" along the route through the forest in 1958: [1] --NE2 06:42, 15 March 2007 (UTC)