Why California Abandoned Highway 39

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IT'S HISTORY

IT'S HISTORY

Күн бұрын

California's abandoned Route 39, also known as the San Gabriel Canyon Road, holds a storied past steeped in the state's transportation evolution. Originally envisioned as a vital link between the coastal regions and the San Gabriel Mountains, Route 39 emerged in the 1930s, serving as a scenic route through stunning landscapes. However, due to environmental concerns, financial constraints, and the devastating effects of natural disasters like landslides and floods, portions of the highway were gradually abandoned. This abandonment resulted in its closure and eventual removal from the state highway system. Despite its closure, remnants of this once bustling road remain, invoking a sense of nostalgia and curiosity among adventurous explorers and historians eager to uncover the faded echoes of California's transportation history.
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Пікірлер: 480
@brianmoore4299
@brianmoore4299 Жыл бұрын
I grew up In La Puente. (60s & 70)s. Hwy 39 to us was Azusa ave. We used to go up to the canyon (as locals then called it) and utilize the riverbed for all sorts of activities. A lot of four wheel driving, motorcycle riding, swimming, partying. If you went south on 39 you could use Colima rd and Hacienda Blvd to take you through the hills and get you over to Beach Blvd which you followed all the way down to Huntington Beach. I hitch hiked that route everyday one summer to the beach while in high school. Only took two hours each way. Much faster if you had your own car.
@lasttimeigaveafuck
@lasttimeigaveafuck Жыл бұрын
Lp my hometown too❤
@EricUnderwood-v2x
@EricUnderwood-v2x 7 ай бұрын
In n out burgers! We might have crossed paths..I grew up on the 605 and Telegraph Rd . Did you ever do the Fish Canyon hike? It used to be really dangerous on a couple parts....I seen so many people break their 4×4s in Azusa Canyon! I fished there a lot too. Mid 70s into the 90s ... Eric Underwood Class of 81 Downey High school Downey California ✌️ Used to take the RTD to Seal Beach too
@trixiex9429
@trixiex9429 Ай бұрын
@brianmoore4299
@brianmoore4299 Ай бұрын
@trixiex9429 did you grow up there at the same time?
@alanrobinson4318
@alanrobinson4318 Ай бұрын
Diamond Jans restaurant !!!!!!!!
@transparentaluminum
@transparentaluminum Ай бұрын
In 1973 when I was 14, my parents, little brother and I spent Thanksgiving at the long gone cabins at Falling Springs. A big tree fell on our cabin in the night during a snowstorm and we did some sledding on a small water tower access road a couple miles further up the road. Very nice memories that this KZbin video brought back. Thank you!
@NixonAngelo
@NixonAngelo 6 ай бұрын
I grew up in Azusa and my neighbor, Charlie Watson, grew up in Azusa too and died when he was 99 years old in 2008. He dropped out of highschool when he was 15 to get married and he was married for 70 years until she passed. He always bragged how he was one of the truck drivers that paved California SR-39 and always complained about how it was closed at the best part. Thank you Mr Watson for all your stories and teaching me to appreciate life.
@aazhie
@aazhie Ай бұрын
@NixonAngelo wow! I hope you can take some time to write stories down and maybe share them with some youtubers to keep his hosroty alive :)
@KenHeying
@KenHeying 7 ай бұрын
I walked up this road back in 1987. I just love checking out old roads, gas station, buildings. I find them very interesting.
@davepage2466
@davepage2466 Жыл бұрын
Great overview. There is a LOT more to this story, but it will be a miracle if it ever reopens. There is also Shoemaker Cyn Rd, another attempt that was abandoned and includes 2 tunnels that end after the second one. However the closed section of 39 was in fact repaired-but they decided not to open it at the last minute. I've been up there many times, even have driven on it legally thanks to connections to the Forest Service. All those slides were repaired, road fixed in other places. But CA being CA, the money had to go to some other place. Then there was the 2002 curve fire, yikes. Then 39 was closed for almost a full decade after that due to storm damage-was the most peaceful I'd ever seen it. Your tax dollars NOT at work! There was a point where caltrans wanted to full on abandon the road-but the forest service said fine, as long as you return the area to completely natural conditions. Of course that would cost a fortune-so fortunately it remains and has been improved. It could easily be reopened with the rockfall tech and other construction improvements-but the political will is not there. It's a shame, since it cuts of easy access to many recreation opportunities and forces people to go miles around. Oh well.
@heartoftherobot
@heartoftherobot Жыл бұрын
It’s supposed to be reopened in the next couple years! Here’s to hoping!
@davepage2466
@davepage2466 Жыл бұрын
I hope so, but I never get my hopes up. They have been saying it will reopen for DECADES and there is always some excuse. Would be nice before I die to see it opened though.@@heartoftherobot
@heartoftherobot
@heartoftherobot Жыл бұрын
@@davepage2466 Though it’s officially past public comment, you should definitely email your thoughts to the Caltrans engineer, Karl Price, working on the project. Google “Caltrans CA-39 Reopening” and his information is there.
@HNSthejypod
@HNSthejypod Жыл бұрын
@@heartoftherobot caltrans can't even keep the 2 open trust me this is not happening 💀
@heartoftherobot
@heartoftherobot Жыл бұрын
@@HNSthejypod they do a pretty good job on the 2 all things considered.
@Randy.E.R
@Randy.E.R Жыл бұрын
I can tell you that Highway 39 will never be repaired. I have lived in the California Desert for 59 years and have learned how CalTrans prioritizes its work. A good example is US395 throughout San Bernardino and Kern counties. Yes, it is a US route but is maintained by CalTrans. This two lane death trap becomes a four lane highway once it reaches Inyo County where fewer deaths have occurred. There is more than enough land to make it four lanes in San Bernardino and Kern counties, so what gives? There is not enough commerce along that stretch of highway to support an expansion as there is in Inyo county. The number of fatalities along that section really doesn’t matter to CalTrans. This is the same reason CA14 is two lanes in one of the most deadliest and remote sections after Red Rock canyon. There is not enough commerce in that area to make it worth widening it to four lanes. Yet, fatal car accidents continue to happen every year. I could give more examples, but you get the idea
@kennethluedtkejr1903
@kennethluedtkejr1903 Жыл бұрын
Yes many deaths on 395 and I am only talking about the stretch going through Adelanto.
@EricUnderwood-v2x
@EricUnderwood-v2x 5 ай бұрын
@@Randy.E.R yeah out on the fringes ... remember all the Horny Toads? They seem to have vanished from the picture...Dad said they were even in Anaheim in the 1920s ... We used to go camping at Red Rock canyon... You're right about commerce...sad but true and there's always been plenty of room everywhere you mentioned ( except 39) to build 4 lanes...it's coming as people retire and move out there to save money... You take care.... Eric Underwood Class of 81 Downey High School Downey California USA 👉♥️🇺🇲🙏🗽
@DrDeuteron
@DrDeuteron 28 күн бұрын
🍐 blossom HW is ☠️
@alderaan20
@alderaan20 23 күн бұрын
they're probably trying to protect a gnat or something. I grew up in both southern and northern CA, and the place has become bonkers since I left for the AF over 20 years ago. I hope it gets back on track. CA is amazing, but it needs better government.
@braschlosan
@braschlosan 18 күн бұрын
It is required to be repaired by law, or must be fully removed and returned to nature. There are two meetings in April to decide how much they will repair - from being a single lane ohv all the way to a two lane highway
@petuniasevan
@petuniasevan Жыл бұрын
Before the landslide, our family used to go up that way for recreation. There is a retreat camp up at Angeles Crest which was an easy drive up 39 from Azusa which I got to stay at for a weekend when I was about 11 years old (about 1974). After the road got closed, we honestly expected it to be cleared and reopened right away. We moved away in 1979. I visited the last time in 2003 and went up that way to find that it was still closed. Very much a bummer.
@elwoodblues9613
@elwoodblues9613 Жыл бұрын
I once camped at Crystal Lake, and spent all of one day on the trails above the campground. This includes the famous Pacific Crest Trail. Very nice area with very nice views, with a pine forest that is not as thick as the Sierras.
@marnixmarquez5633
@marnixmarquez5633 Жыл бұрын
I ❤ Tahoe
@petuniasevan
@petuniasevan Жыл бұрын
@@marnixmarquez5633 Somewhere north of 500 miles from San Gabriel Canyon! 😆
@DeltaElites
@DeltaElites Жыл бұрын
Yeah, I grew up in San Gabriel so the Azusa to Angeles Crest route was so much easier. I was truly saddened when I learned they would keep it closed. It was one of the best motorcycles rides in all of Angeles National Forest.
@Porsche996driver
@Porsche996driver Жыл бұрын
This reminds me I need to get out more. I remember the big storm in ‘78, I almost drowned riding my bike home from school lol. Great backgrounder in the CA road system - what vision to build out this network. It’s amazing in SoCal you can drive one hour in any direction and be in a different ecosystem. Desert, ocean, coastal scrub, rivers, lakes, foothills, mountains - we all need to get out more. Peace and love all.
@carlstrohmeyer
@carlstrohmeyer Жыл бұрын
I grew up along the broken part of the route in the 1960s. And actually, for a time, the route did connect via Hacienda Road/Blvd from the Beach Bvd part then jogged over to Azusa Ave. I can still remember the Route 39 signs along Hacienda
@KaiPonte
@KaiPonte Жыл бұрын
Great video! I used to drive regularly from my office in Cerritos to my customer at Edwards Air Force Base near Palmdale. I would either have to go around the 14 to the 395 or go up the 15 to 138 to the south entrance. My mom had taught fourth grade in the late 1960's and still had a California geography textbook, with a freeway map of Southern California. That book had the 39 freeway going from Huntington Beach all the way to Palmdale. Of course, it also had the 2 freeway going straight through Beverly Hills, which was also canned.
@photwizzy
@photwizzy 12 күн бұрын
@@KaiPonte we just moved from Cerritos and we sure miss it. It was a great city near everything. 😀
@BobTheHatKing
@BobTheHatKing Жыл бұрын
The Mount Waterman you have in the video is a small residential road in a gated community less than 500 feet long. What you’re looking for is the Mount Waterman Ski Lifts on Highway 2 (Angeles Crest Highway) east of the Highways 2 & 39 junction (north end of the closed section). It still is a 2 hour drive to go around the closed section from its south end back down highway 39, west on interstate 210, and then back up and around highway 2.
@MrGoldInfinity
@MrGoldInfinity Жыл бұрын
Enthusiast driver of Southern California. HWY 39 is my last major mountain road and I’m positive it’ll never be opened ever again. To all the old folk that got to use it before the natural disasters, y’all are so lucky. Still have Angeles crest hwy though
@ghosttownbound
@ghosttownbound Ай бұрын
As a high school student in La Canada we would ride our motorcycles up Angeles Crest and down Azusa Canyon.....
@cynthiaschultheis1660
@cynthiaschultheis1660 Жыл бұрын
Been in CA since 1959. Seen 405, 91 and 605 construction!!!! We drove to San Diego on PCH.❤❤
@jkwfo
@jkwfo Ай бұрын
I was born in calif and my family seen the writing on the wall and bailed in 72
@UTP_ENT
@UTP_ENT 29 күн бұрын
@@jkwfo more like they couldnt afford it, california was awesome in 1972
@Maimuna_joy
@Maimuna_joy 28 күн бұрын
Wow, the PCH went all the way to San Diego. That’s amazing!
@zaneandrews7065
@zaneandrews7065 Жыл бұрын
Yay you finally changed that intro that would blow out my eardrums as I listen thru earbuds at work. Reminded me of the history channels modern marvels show on cable TV
@DiscGoStu
@DiscGoStu Жыл бұрын
Bridge and Road to Nowhere are such awesome hikes, especially in summer when you can enjoy a swimming hole in the river and picnic under the trees. Those tunnels are extremely creepy though, something about massive, abandoned structures in the middle of nowhere will always creep me out
@JustFluffyQuiltingYarnCrafts
@JustFluffyQuiltingYarnCrafts Жыл бұрын
Thank you for the historical detail about this route. ❤
@ITSHISTORY
@ITSHISTORY Жыл бұрын
Any time!
@TheForce02
@TheForce02 Жыл бұрын
Having worked that area for many years, driving in the closed section numerous times, I would say you did a good job covering the story. My opinion dealing with CalTrans and seeing the road for more than 15 years is that it will never reopen as a major route, just as an emergency escape route. Dealing with the environmental issues and money involved with construction just isn’t in the cards. Side note, just before Coldbrook Campground is the large paved areas and another gate that is usually open. Pay attention to the west side just past the gate. As you drive up SR-39 look back and you will see that they actually started cutting a new road on the west side after the road failures in 1978. They didn’t make it too far before abandoning it as well.
@JayBobJayBob
@JayBobJayBob 16 күн бұрын
I am 70 years old and grew up in Ontario, California, but now live in Huntington Beach. Back in the day, our family had motorcycles and a Volkswagen dune buggy. In high school, I used to blow off steam by taking my motorcycle solo or the dune buggy with a few people through the fire roads of the San Gabriel mountains north of Ontario, which is mostly the Mount Baldy area as well as Cucamonga Canyon. One day I found a trail that led over to all this mountain area including the abandoned bridge. A motorcycle is great for getting around or through any road disruptions. It became a favorite place of mine to ride through those mountains to Lake Azusa for a nice swim. One day, my girlfriend and I when we were about 18 took some low-dose psilocybin mushrooms and swam on a beautiful sunny day across that clear lake. We made love on an isolated sandy Beach then swam back after smoking some primo bud that I had in a waterproof bag. Good times!! Thanks for the memory.
@gailnewcomb8256
@gailnewcomb8256 Жыл бұрын
Route 39 looks like a really scary road. I’ll have to pass on it. Great video and very interesting. Thanks ❤😅
@elwoodblues9613
@elwoodblues9613 Жыл бұрын
It is so LA that the most popular trail in SoCal is to an abandoned highway bridge. I did this hike. The trail is very unofficial, but its lovers have added things to the route to indicate that you're going the right way. It is not an easy hike, but it is a good one. As for the last four miles of 39, rebuilding and reopening it would be great, but I think the problems are insurmountable. The land in that area is too unstable to support a roadway.
@johnfech3985
@johnfech3985 Жыл бұрын
So this is now a hiking trail not an off road vehicle one? Again unoffically.
@elwoodblues9613
@elwoodblues9613 Жыл бұрын
@@johnfech3985 - yes. The big storm wiped out most of the roadway leading to what is now the Bridge To Nowhere. The last mile is intact, although unpaved.
@HyBrad
@HyBrad Жыл бұрын
That makes sense, but it doesn't stop them in Big Sur HWY 1. Obviously it's a high traveled road, and there are people living along it, but there are larger slides (literal mountains falling down on it) that they repair.
@chadwells7562
@chadwells7562 Жыл бұрын
@@HyBradThey have no choice on Hwy 1 out by Big Sur etc because that’s the only place to build a road that services the coastal communities. I love riding and driving our SoCal mountain roads, but they’re a luxury
@knaudi86
@knaudi86 Жыл бұрын
A state legislature is a deliberative body (a group). A legislator is an individual member of that body. Just a helpful note on your terminology, Ryan.
@northernbohemianrealist
@northernbohemianrealist Ай бұрын
He must have gone to school in Alabama.
@snuffysmith6058
@snuffysmith6058 11 ай бұрын
I used to hike and fish the east fork of the San Gabriel river in the '60's. My church group made many hikes from Roads End up canyon (eastward) to a tunnel cut into the mountains. My guess was it was going to connect to Wrightwood or there about. We didn't have the equipment to explore the tunnel but I always wanted to. I had wonderful times on the east fork, very fond memories.
@davidfairless1028
@davidfairless1028 Жыл бұрын
We rode motorcycles up 39 to Angeles Crest Highway many times before it was closed. Awesome riding; we would usually ride to Wrightwood and then come back. Living in north Orange County at the time, we would go up Beach Blvd., take Hacienda through La Habra Heights, and then Azusa Ave. to the mountains. When 39 closed, it became an hour of freeway to get to one end of Angeles Crest to start the twisties in the mountains. Ugh! When it closed, we just rode the whole length of Angeles Crest. Now I live in the Sierra, southeast of Sacramento and the twisty road starts at the end of my driveway!
@reddog-ex4dx
@reddog-ex4dx Жыл бұрын
Good job Ryan! Very well done.
@JayBobJayBob
@JayBobJayBob 16 күн бұрын
I grew up in the Ontario area. The main road, Euclid Avenue leads straight to Mount Baldy Village which has a connecting road called the Glendora Ridge Road, which has a lot of great turnoffs for a motorcycle that lead into the areas you are talking about with Highways 2, 39 & the abandoned bridge. Fantastic views on perfectly clear days that see 100 miles beyond Catalina Island.
@darold1966
@darold1966 Жыл бұрын
If you want to see a another alternate road project, check out Devil's Slide on the coast. The new tunnel handles the traffic and the old highway grade is now a hiking trail. Similar will happen at Last Chance Grade further north.
@CrewMotleyCrue345
@CrewMotleyCrue345 Жыл бұрын
Hiked that abandoned road 39 part back and forth from the islip saddle and did a loop from little Jimmy camp to Crystal lake and back through road 39
@Charlesrook1686
@Charlesrook1686 Жыл бұрын
Growing up in Glendora this was a favorite hike as a teenager. You should look into doing a video of the orange groves in the San Gabriel Valley and the building of Rubel Farms Castle.
@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat
@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat Жыл бұрын
Yup you said it.
@AtZero138
@AtZero138 Жыл бұрын
Cheers from Huntington Beach CA 🇺🇸.... Highway 39 or Beach Blvd.. can't even avoid it.. its life here..
@RandalF-259
@RandalF-259 Ай бұрын
I am glad you mentioned this. When he talked about other areas it confused me.
@markshietze4783
@markshietze4783 Жыл бұрын
Awesome ! Excellent content ... very entertaining .. keep up your good work ❤😊
@FriedEverything
@FriedEverything Жыл бұрын
I love this channel I always watch it as soon as a video is out
@trainfire28
@trainfire28 Ай бұрын
Think outside the box- Like the Mt. Lowe Railway- Take the roadbed, lay a 3 foot narrow gauge railway line that will use little of the current footprint. The canyon is amazing, with the Big Cone Fir, which is native only to Southern California, Big Horn Sheep to view it could be a major Southern California attraction. At the end of the line, Hwy #2, have a station with food and drink. Narrow gauge is easy to lay and requires less work to keep in order. Next to the railbed you could still have an access road for the USFS for fire protection and for needed travel for safety. Hwy 39 is an amazing mountain road, and with a 3 foot gauge railway, like they have in Switzerland everywhere, it could be something people would like to ride. My two cents.. and a win/win
@classic.cameras
@classic.cameras Жыл бұрын
Reminds me of those insane "highways" in Pakistan. Wow this place is absolutely nuts.
@dudeonbike800
@dudeonbike800 Жыл бұрын
Very cool video! Thank you for sharing. Looks like it would be nice to explore by bike.
@TanJeep
@TanJeep 3 ай бұрын
I used to drive through Valyermo coming from LA when I would go camping above Palmdale/Lancaster. Strange to hear about this town again. I wonder if I've seen this hwy
@Cgopat
@Cgopat Ай бұрын
Great information. I grew up near Hwy 39, in Buena Park, where it's called Beach Blvd. When I lived in Pomona I used to drive Hwy 39 into Azusa Canyon and hike all along the river. Such fond memories. Thanks!
@MetalSandman999
@MetalSandman999 Жыл бұрын
If you live or have loved pretty much anywhere in Orange County, you are very familiar with the south end of Highway 39. You might not have any idea about all this history of the road. The South side is just a normal major thoroughfare (called Beach Blvd.).
@megmoore335
@megmoore335 Жыл бұрын
Glendora ridge road from Glendora Mountain Road to Mt Baldy road is crazy, as well as the fire roads you can drive with a 4wd. Though it would be so incredibly cool for this to reopen one day, it just seems the San Gabriel Mountains are just too wild to be tamed like that. Goes back even to Echo Mountain (Sam Merrill trail in Pasadena), where they had a cable tram that brought people up the Mountain, was destroyed in fire, and never rebuilt 🤷🏻‍♀️
@toomanyjstoomanyrs1705
@toomanyjstoomanyrs1705 Жыл бұрын
I concur. I love the Sam Merrill trail going up to Echo Mountain. Yes, the San Gabriel mountains are unstable. It's just a matter of time for the Angeles Crest Highway is reclaimed by the mountains.
@chadwells7562
@chadwells7562 Жыл бұрын
@@toomanyjstoomanyrs1705Probably after the collapse of the United States dries up funding. I’d give it 2 years without maintenance to he untraversable, probably around 10-15 for major sections to be destroyed. Full reclamation about 30 years.
@toomanyjstoomanyrs1705
@toomanyjstoomanyrs1705 Жыл бұрын
@@chadwells7562 I'd say California collapses first, spelling doom for these roads to "nowhere.". Let's face it, Angeles Crest Highway is not as important as Hwy 101, etc. Of course, to us these roads are extremely important but not so to the bean counters.
@Maldoror200
@Maldoror200 Жыл бұрын
​@toomanyjstoomanyrs1705 ..Damn, You guys..how fatalistick.."Thee END Is Near..!!"
@chadwells7562
@chadwells7562 Жыл бұрын
@@Maldoror200 Look out your window circa December 2024 and you’ll see we’re right.
@jackieloveslife
@jackieloveslife Жыл бұрын
Interesting video. I grew up close to Route 39
@paulsto6516
@paulsto6516 Жыл бұрын
I have hiked to the bridge. I miss the San Gabriel Mountains! Do a piece on the "Ridge Route" connecting L.A. to Bakersfield. If you haven't already. Thanks for posting.
@princessmarlena1359
@princessmarlena1359 Жыл бұрын
I grew up in the SGV. Never been to the bridge, unfortunately.
@mantaraay101
@mantaraay101 Жыл бұрын
I've been to the shooting range in the video @ 12:36 and always wondered about the bridge to nowhere and why it was there, this was a great video to watch!
@ingodwetrust1136
@ingodwetrust1136 7 ай бұрын
Where's this abandoned highway at? What do I type in the GPS to go there lol?
@dvsmike
@dvsmike Ай бұрын
@@ingodwetrust1136 you can google Bridge to Nowhere and all sorts of hiking websites have the trail listed as well as manh videos on KZbin laying it out. Follow the east fork off the 39 due east until, past camp Williams until it forces you wither to go right up glendora mountain ridge or to the left across the small white bridge. Go to the left. It will end at a parking lot. Follow the fire road down and the trail will start off from there and pretty decently marked for the first 1/2 mile or so. It follows the river and as long as you stay to the right except for a few crossings, you will get to the bridge. If you're adventurous enough, on the weekends there is an outfit set up at the bridge that does bungee jumping. If i remember right their family owns that property. Im sure they would have some knowledge to drop.
@Dcbbanker
@Dcbbanker Жыл бұрын
Nicely done. I can’t ever see it opening where it is routed. Very interesting story.
@donandresdeulloa4638
@donandresdeulloa4638 28 күн бұрын
20 years ago i used to ride my road bike up 39. I was in good shape. Some of the best memories of my life riding up to crystal lake on a closed road
@davidgrisez
@davidgrisez Жыл бұрын
I am aware of this permanently closed section of California Highway 39 in the San Gabriel Mountains. I have driven a few times on Highway 39 from Azusa to the place where the highway is closed. I found it interesting to learn that there have been some plans to rebuild and reopen this section of California Highway 39. However because of cost, landslide prone areas, big horn sheep and budget reasons I suspect this section of Highway 39 will never reopen.
@damienrubio9585
@damienrubio9585 Ай бұрын
2019 the gate was open at the top of the 2/39 junction. I'll never forget the road down 🙌🙏
@jaminova_1969
@jaminova_1969 Ай бұрын
I say leave it alone and make it a wildlife sanctuary for all the big horn sheep and animals that have been displaced by housing construction!
@orangeandblackattack
@orangeandblackattack Ай бұрын
@jaminova_1969 i say cook lamb chops at new restaurants after reopening the highway. There are plenty of other sheep to fill in gap. Besides, if no road, who's gonna see them?
@djsi38t
@djsi38t Жыл бұрын
Great job covering the history!.
@ITSHISTORY
@ITSHISTORY Жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@m.d.grimes1622
@m.d.grimes1622 Жыл бұрын
My family used to camp at Crystal Lake in the fifties, I used to drive up there in the late sixties...a very challenging road to drive at best, especially in the snow. Weird to think of my life as history.
@glenn_r_frank_author
@glenn_r_frank_author Жыл бұрын
That norther segment of 39 seems pretty pointless actually. I mean I guess it would give an alternatives to people in some of the small communities along highway 2 - alternatives to going all the way around to either La Canada Flintridge or 138 near wrightwood... and maybe it is needed for fire safety alternatives, I dont know. I know that a lot of cyclists and car enthusiasts drive the open parts of upper 39 up to crystal lake. I even know a few cyclists and hikers who have explored some of the closed parts of the road. There is some pretty steep terrain up there. Thanks for posting this. I have wondered about 39 and also about the part that does not go over the Hacienda heights area. Another great video.
@glennac
@glennac Жыл бұрын
We currently live in Azusa a stone’s throw from Azusa Ave (Hwy 39). Thanks for covering this surprise topic. 🙏🏼
@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat
@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat Жыл бұрын
My sister owned a house around there. She now lives near GMR
@DrInQTel
@DrInQTel Жыл бұрын
Surprisingly well researched. Nice Video!
@Airsally
@Airsally Ай бұрын
Having grown up in Azusa from 55 till 1989. I having driven from Azusa to the beach many times. Drove up the canyon to Crystal lake many times. Dad took us fishing in the canyon. Ive driven the east fork to Glendora mountain road. We used to go swiming near that east fork bridge. Only once did my dad drive the 39 all the way up,then took the 2 over to mt wilson then down to la canada.theres not much up there, but would be cool if it was repaired and opened back up. .
@davidmata9952
@davidmata9952 10 ай бұрын
CA-39 once went through Hacienda Blvd. and Glendora Ave., until reaching I-10. CA-39 was also originally supposed to be extended beyond Angeles Crest Hwy. and into the High Desert.
@TheShornak
@TheShornak Жыл бұрын
I have hiked that East Fork trail from the farthest that you can drive all the way to The Bridge to Nowhere. I believe it's actually more like a 7 to 8 mile hike round trip. The bridge a bungee company uses it for Bungee jumping. Just on the far side of the bridge you can see where the road goes into a tunnel that has been filled in. It's a great hike that can be done in 1 day, get there early and the bridge is really impressive. I wanted to go farther and see where the tunnel comes out but it was getting to late in the afternoon so had to head back.
@AM711
@AM711 9 ай бұрын
Beach Bl also holds one of Cali's most important historical landmarks - Knott's Berry Farm & on Hacienda Rd there's the largest Buddhist temple in the country
@marsstubblefield
@marsstubblefield Ай бұрын
when a fully funded project fails to come to fruition it means a bunch of bureaucrats cashed checks without doing the jobs they were paid for
@IndigoJo
@IndigoJo Жыл бұрын
There's a highway in England that was lost for the same reason -- the A625 west of Sheffield. It passed through the Peak District (a part of the Pennines that is a popular tourist destination because of its closeness to Sheffield, Manchester and other towns and cities) and there is a hill called Mam Tor which was the site of one landslip after another. Eventually there was one that proved too big to repair the road, and for years the road remained on the map with a gap in the middle, which on some maps was marked "road closed at present". Eventually it was decided (not sure whether by the government or the county council, as it's a locally managed road) that it would be too costly to repair, and it was closed for good and declassified. You can walk the road, though, and you can see all the layers or tarmac that were laid again and again after the landslips.
@alderaan20
@alderaan20 23 күн бұрын
This reminds me of the road to Tdajoura in Djibouti, Africa, only the road in Djibouti was actually more sensible. Having traveled the Djiboutian highway north at least once a month on my six month deployment and not feeling great about it, I'd take it over this disaster. Reminds me of the alternate route to Weaverville when 299 in 2018 was blocked from the fires. That was terrifying.
@Sam-mw5hx
@Sam-mw5hx Жыл бұрын
Wow, what a great video go often to those roads and canyons, and always wondered why that section was closed. Glad to see a video on it.
@ITSHISTORY
@ITSHISTORY Жыл бұрын
Thanks 👍
@joshkleifgen6525
@joshkleifgen6525 Жыл бұрын
I just drove East Fork rd. on a visit back in August. I always ride Azusa Canyon up to East Fork and run East toward Mt. Baldy Village, then South down the mountain.
@AGEnderRedCarpetHandPoured
@AGEnderRedCarpetHandPoured Жыл бұрын
The state burns billions on a train to nowhere, while abandoning actual transportation needs...
@post_obamacore
@post_obamacore Жыл бұрын
Fun video! My folks grew up in Duarte, and my grandparents lived there for a million years. Always wondered why we couldn't easily go up into the mountains!
@Observing-NPCs
@Observing-NPCs 29 күн бұрын
@10:55 what is that in the ground? off rhe road on the left? it looks like dirt stairs.
@lopezexplora
@lopezexplora 8 ай бұрын
I love this abandoned highway, it’s perfect for exploring and hiking through it🥾🥾
@dwightdonnelly8662
@dwightdonnelly8662 Жыл бұрын
Great history lesson
@KarmaticVibe
@KarmaticVibe 6 ай бұрын
The amount of times I have been vibing and looking at the scenery at the top of Azusa Canyon. GPS maps always sent drivers up to the top. " where the gate was closed. " Always had random people driving at speed's then slamming the brakes at the sight of the gate. People asking when the gate would open, of if anyone was going to " open " the gate. LOL I awlays sort of chuckled at these moments. Nobody could ever beleive the road was closed indefinetly since 1987. Like, the road is literally falling apart? LOL
@Fortdirt1
@Fortdirt1 Ай бұрын
It's fixable. BUT: people like to dump things (old water heaters ect, dead bodies) But you now have to pay to go up the road. (Always follow the money trail)
@Fortdirt1
@Fortdirt1 Ай бұрын
(They have or had the money) So they kept the money and it got lost in the state funding.
@LEBUMCHOKEDIN6FINALS
@LEBUMCHOKEDIN6FINALS Жыл бұрын
Interesting I never heard of this highway before. But the Central Coast highway 1 is the most beautiful scenery in the whole state by far
@drh3b
@drh3b Жыл бұрын
I grew up at the other end decades ago, where it was definitely bustling as Westminster and Huntington Beach developed what was still half farmland when we moved in. It's even more bustling now from the what I've seen on videos and Google Street View. IIRC from a different video, Highway 39 was separated about a year before we moved out.
@Dwayne-mb2uj
@Dwayne-mb2uj Жыл бұрын
Me too I lived in Stanton and went to Garden Grove schools from 65 to 74 when we moved to Fountain Valley One time we bought a new car and drove it up to Crystal lake where we saw a bear . My Mom made my Dad turn around when things got a little too curvy and kind of scary .
@onbearfeet
@onbearfeet Жыл бұрын
I live near the southern end of 39 today, and my immediate reaction to the title of this video was, "I'm pretty sure Beach Blvd isn't abandoned ... I got dinner at a poke joint there a couple nights ago."
@Dwayne-mb2uj
@Dwayne-mb2uj Жыл бұрын
@@onbearfeet OK I am not hip what is a poke joint?
@RajanSingh.1
@RajanSingh.1 Жыл бұрын
@@Dwayne-mb2ujPoke is a Japanese-Hawaiian dish. Usually with raw fish + toppings I would recommend
@ocularpatdown
@ocularpatdown Ай бұрын
Yup. Grew up in Anaheim. Beach Blvd is always busy.
@rufusmacck3712
@rufusmacck3712 Жыл бұрын
I have traveled 39 to 2 many times back in the day in my MGTD. Before Crystal Lake there was a resort that had a small but neat restaurant. The road narrowed to one lane for a bit in one stretch. I certainly agree that the road should be reopened. It would help relieve traffic a little on the 15 through the Cajun Pass and the 210 in La Canada where the Angeles Crest starts. Then again…. maybe we should think about it.
@Airsally
@Airsally Ай бұрын
I worked at the foothill dairy at the mouth of the canyon. Those restaurants came and bought stuff all the time. I even help a lady save her cabin during a fire one year.
@rufusmacck3712
@rufusmacck3712 Ай бұрын
@ I remember the dairy. I visited it when I was in elementary school in the early 60’s. If I remember correctly, we used to get our milk delivered by them in glass bottles. Those days are long gone. Do you remember the little shop that sold gold mining supplies near the dairy?
@elizabradley4797
@elizabradley4797 Жыл бұрын
My fireman boyfriend drove the # 39 fully covered in snow ~ He just drove over the rock slides ~ kinda scared~ but he knew what he was doing ~ views were outrageous ~ #39 used to go all the way up to topside highway & there was a huge lodge bar ~ husband and I drove there in late 80's on the old #39 offroading then finding road ~ adventure for sure ~ I had an old old map ~ so kinda felt our way up and through ~ Great Flood of 1938 ~ my great aunt was a school teacher to young Hollywood actors ~ day of flood was payday so he father extemely stern German directed her to go get her paycheck 'heck or highwater'. ~ so she did & made it got her pay check & went back home to East Pasadena California ~ bridges were out but maybe she took Street car to Sixth Street which sadly stupidly they have now torn down. It was a beautiful example of BeauxArts ~ Soundly Built ~ This was quite interesting Thank You ~
@mrxman581
@mrxman581 Жыл бұрын
The old 6th street viaduct suffered from concrete rot. It had to be torn down. There was no fixing it. They tried for years.
@25kmgb
@25kmgb Жыл бұрын
Very well researched and presented
@dmitriylevitskiy1674
@dmitriylevitskiy1674 Жыл бұрын
California is pathetic. The world's "5th largest economy" can't build a road in the span of 50 years
@bigbaddms
@bigbaddms Жыл бұрын
Not even building it, but just repairing a tiny section a few hundred feet long
@rorschachwatchmen4742
@rorschachwatchmen4742 Жыл бұрын
Come look at our roads in Texas lol
@Joseph-sz8nc
@Joseph-sz8nc Ай бұрын
Thank you very much for this video, it means alot too. I was born and raised in San Gabriel Valley, my heart belongs here. I've always wondered about Highway 39 since I was a kid, I love anything that has to do with history of the SGV. Once again thanks for this video if you could find more history, I would appreciate if you share. Thanks
@Ramcharger85
@Ramcharger85 Жыл бұрын
Love stories like this. Wow, a ghost highway. ❤
@PossumKommander
@PossumKommander Жыл бұрын
Caltrans is a money laundering operation for Sacramento and their friends. There are multiple projects that have been funded for decades without any work being done, yet somehow still get money diverted in each year.
@johnw2026
@johnw2026 Жыл бұрын
Driving on mountain roads with switchbacks doesn't bother me. But when he was showing the Google Maps view of Hwy 39, I saw places where the road tilted sharply sideways down the mountain slopes. That would bother me! 😳
@davepage2466
@davepage2466 Жыл бұрын
It's not accurate. I've ridden my bike and even driven on the road(legally) a few times. It's passable, has been fixed but the powers that be decided not to open it back up. It's actually "safe" as far as the road goes, but the rockfall is a problem.
@m0tamanic
@m0tamanic Жыл бұрын
@@davepage2466 can you still bike it!legally?
@davepage2466
@davepage2466 Жыл бұрын
bicycle or motorcycle?@@m0tamanic
@m0tamanic
@m0tamanic Жыл бұрын
@@davepage2466 I want to do it on my pk ripper with the Bmx homies
@seedmole
@seedmole 8 күн бұрын
I drove up there once, one of the gates was open and I drove in past it... got to where a bunch of boulders were strewn about, carefully drove my way past them.. went pretty far but it was very clear that it was not a through route.
@TomiLoveless
@TomiLoveless Жыл бұрын
I traveled over this road on greyhound in 64' the road was a nightmare, for all the underpowered truckers, and as a result all the drivers caught behind them on the steep parts. Has anyone done a study on the number of fatalities on this road? My thinking is it was very high. Passing lanes were nonexistent! I know many truckers lost their lives from brake failures. Runaway Trucks were famous on this passage.
@RobertCHoweSr
@RobertCHoweSr Жыл бұрын
Wow! Beach Blvd. North
@Simple_But_Expensive
@Simple_But_Expensive 5 ай бұрын
all that money spent on California highways have created a road network equal to that of any third world country. Worst maintained roads in the nation hands down (I have driven in all of them except Hawaii)
@Airsally
@Airsally Ай бұрын
You'd think with all the gas tax we pay they could do a better job of maintaining Ca. Road. Dang Newsome must have pocketed it for his 9 million dollar home.
@Simple_But_Expensive
@Simple_But_Expensive Ай бұрын
@ 9 million paves about 3 miles of road around here. The dems and the unions pocketed a lot more than that. The state is 40 billion in the hole. That is 40000 million. At least half of that went to pay the salaries of “commissions” that study problems, but never do anything. Guess who the people on those “commissions” are.
@ricko1321
@ricko1321 Жыл бұрын
The roads I’ve driven on 18 wheels would blow your mind!
@sceb
@sceb Жыл бұрын
I hiked up this path and bungee jumped from the bridge to nowhere many years ago
@MyNameIsChristBringsASword
@MyNameIsChristBringsASword Жыл бұрын
I used to ride through that area on weekends what a great and potentially dangerous ride with all the blind turns.
@bajaboy27
@bajaboy27 Жыл бұрын
Wait, you mean to tell us, there was a hurricane in 1978 that came through California? So that means they lied to us last September when they claimed it was the first time a hurricane warning had been issued in the estate. 🤬
@henrywashington3732
@henrywashington3732 Жыл бұрын
A 2 cent tax builds thousands of miles of freeway back then. Today a 25 cent tax gets 10 miles of pot holes filled🙄
@caseycooper5615
@caseycooper5615 Жыл бұрын
Great overview of the history of California highways, and a very good job overall. One thing I can tell you about Route 39 in the southern part is that it was planned to be a freeway, with the (formerly) 4-quadrant cloverleaf interchanges with the 405 and the 22 freeways built in anticipation of that. Like all freeways, it would have wiped out large swaths of houses and businesses had it been built as programmed for in the early 1970s. Since the areas the proposed freewaywent through were white and middle class at the time - well you get the picture. I recall in 2008 they had $11 million budgeted for its reconstruction, but at the last moment the money was shunted to open Route 1 at Devils Slide south of San Francisco. I've hiked it and can vouch for the challenges in rebuilding and keeping it open. The San Gabriela are heavily faulted granite akin to building on gravel. I think the bridge bypassing the problem rock slide would be the most feasible solution as that has been done (so far) successfully on Route 2 just a few miles away. However, it is still building on a literal pile of rocks. It will be interesting to see what happens. At a minimum, it should be maintained for emergency access, as that had proven critical in a couple of recent fires in the area. At the very least, it will make it easier for the big horn sheep to get around
@roberthuron9160
@roberthuron9160 Жыл бұрын
Maybe the California Transport ation Department could use the Japanese revetment technique that they use on their railways,and the Swiss have similar problems,and they have found solutions! Suggestions only,as both those countries have experienced many of California's problems! Thank you 😇 😊!!
@wiseal9063
@wiseal9063 Жыл бұрын
you mean like rapid crime without prosecution
@javier-m75
@javier-m75 Жыл бұрын
amazing. cool video
@donlawson3330
@donlawson3330 Жыл бұрын
FYI: it's "legislature", not "legislator"...
@chrisfallis5851
@chrisfallis5851 Жыл бұрын
Thank you. That gaff was bothering me as well.
@sullyps3
@sullyps3 Жыл бұрын
@@chrisfallis5851 Gaff is once in the video, four or more times is a fundamental misunderstanding of what the word means. Inigo Montoya said it best, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
@johnbarron4843
@johnbarron4843 Жыл бұрын
Man this was great!
@ray017ray017
@ray017ray017 Жыл бұрын
@1:55. That hair caught me off guard lol
@TheAverageNooob
@TheAverageNooob Жыл бұрын
I only knew it was closed because of the road being destroyed and too dangerous. I work in the area around Route 39 helping out the Angeles National Forest. I've been down East Fork but never questioned the bridge. Cool to know now
@Gunslinger-m2v
@Gunslinger-m2v Ай бұрын
LaHabra is difficult to get to being a few cities miles from freeways in all directions. I lived within 1 mile of Azusa Blvd and 10 freeway most of my young life but never heard of any of these plans. Azusa Blvd ends at Mt. Baldy ski and hiking area. Highway 39 is also known as Beach Blvd where it goes from LaHabra to the beach.
@Joseph-sz8nc
@Joseph-sz8nc Ай бұрын
I did here something that it was just for military purposes to connect Highway 39 with Highway 2 Angeles Crest for warfare emergencies as a back up road incase our freeways were destroyed in a war attack, the military could still move around thru the back of the mountains. But since we have Highway 138 from San Bernardino to Palmdale which is way better because it has less turns and hills, they figured maybe it wasn't really necessary to continue Highway 39. Also since 210 Freeway got finished in the ealry 2000's I believe, they also figured now they got 4 points to move around quick from San Bernardino to La which are 57 Frwy, 60 Frwy, 10 Frwy, 138 Hwy and 210 Frwy. Back then roads were extremely important to have for the military to move around.
@IrishMike22
@IrishMike22 13 күн бұрын
I have NEVER heard or seen my hometown on anything before. Hell yeah little old La Mirada getting a shout 😎
@lesliecarr312
@lesliecarr312 Жыл бұрын
CA HWY 39. Goes through some very very rugged landscape. Nice views. But the incredibly precipitous drop-offs along the incredibly narrow roadway and hundreds of hairpin turns looks like suicide waiting for its next unsuspecting victim.
@chadwells7562
@chadwells7562 Жыл бұрын
People have driven off the sides and not been found for years or ever. There was an accident on Glendora Ridge Road a few years back, when they went down to get the bodies they found another accident that happened 5 years prior and hadn’t been discovered
@susanKWithAnE
@susanKWithAnE Жыл бұрын
Was he referring to the Angeles Crest creosote bush forest?
@bighueso2428
@bighueso2428 Ай бұрын
Do you have any videos on Mt Lowe? I think there used to be a rail line.
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