Western Railroad Discussion > Cajon Pass and Highway 138, Update 03/15/2017

Highway 138 in Cajon Pass has been closed most of this week and will reopen on April 4, 2017.  Although the roadway is closed, a view of the work at the Summit is possible with a telephoto lens from a Forest Service Road across the tracks.  Heavy earthmoving is evident in the photos I was able to take.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/17 20:17 by BNSF6400.

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Thanks for the pictures.  Will the new 138 be divided, and on two levels? Or are the cuts just part of the stabilizing process?

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Thanks for the pictures.  Will the new 138 be
> divided, and on two levels? Or are the cuts just
> part of the stabilizing process?

The new roadway will be two-lanes but further into the mountain and lower than the current highway alignment, thus they are cutting into the mountain.  The removed dirt is being moved to low-spots on the realignment to the west.

Lots of valleys to fill in.

And a much safer drive.   

JohnM Wrote:
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> And a much safer drive.   

But not nearly as much fun. 

Back in the day, the road from Cajon to Summit was a great road for driving briskly in a sports car, drifting around corners and keeping one's speed up for the hills.  But it's way too busy to do that with any degree of safety now.  When I drove it for the first time in a long time last year, I was appalled by how much traffic there was during the evening rush hour.   So I suppose it's just as well that it's being widened and straightened.  That will leave the combination of Bena Road and Caliente-Bodfish Road as one of the few Southern California routes that's both twisty enough and empty enough for spirited driving while railfanning.

D F W

Moved out of CA twenty yrs ago.  Can't quite place what I'm looking at here.  Is the earth-moving equipment in your pics on the highway 138 side or on the opposite side from 138?  If they are on the 138 side then it appears the Summit Overlook is already disappearing?  Thought there were recent posts saying that the overlook would be there until next spring. 

Any work going on at Frost with the new highway?

It looks like the south side of the tracks at summit.

GeneL Wrote:
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> Moved out of CA twenty yrs ago.  Can't quite
> place what I'm looking at here.  Is the
> earth-moving equipment in your pics on the highway
> 138 side or on the opposite side from 138?  If
> they are on the 138 side then it appears the
> Summit Overlook is already disappearing?  Thought
> there were recent posts saying that the overlook
> would be there until next spring. 

In the last photo, the two scrappers are on 138 right at the look out.  Highway 138 is right behind them but covered mostly by loose dirt that has slid down the hill next to the road.  The actual earthmoving is taking place above at the Summit cut is made wider.  Later on it will be go lower than were 138 is now.  The Summit Overlook should, "should" remain for the time being but will be a little different with all the heavy equipment using the parking area.

BNSF6400, thanks for your informative reply!