Angeles Crest Highway (CA-2)

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Fri Dec 17, 2010 9:01 am

The road is supposed to open Monday, but who knows with the weather we're going to get today and over the weekend.

HJ

Post by **HikeUp** » Fri Dec 17, 2010 9:19 am

I predict the road won't open this Monday. Instead the new concrete will cure too rapidly and burst into flames and explode (a la Alan's concrete floor

) causing the forest to burn down again. Despite the rain. 10 more years of closure.

Idlehour Camp will remain open.

I could be wrong.

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Fri Dec 17, 2010 9:23 am

HikeUp wrote: I predict the road won't open this Monday. Instead the new concrete will cure too rapidly and burst into flames and explode (a la Alan's concrete floor ) causing the forest to burn down again. Despite the rain. 10 more years of closure.

It's too quiet. In particular, my floor has been very quiet lately. Something has to give somewhere. Be careful! ACH may be a deathtrap.

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Fri Dec 17, 2010 9:29 am

HikeUp wrote: I predict the road won't open this Monday. Instead the new concrete will cure too rapidly and burst into flames and explode (a la Alan's concrete floor ) causing the forest to burn down again. Despite the rain. 10 more years of closure.

Post by **HikeUp** » Fri Dec 17, 2010 9:32 am

That's a different Brian. He's the optimist. "Glass half full" type.

I'm the "glass is twice as big as it needs to be" type.

bertfivesix · Post by **bertfivesix** » Fri Dec 17, 2010 10:19 am

I'm the type that contends the glass is completely full. Of water and air.

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Fri Dec 17, 2010 10:23 am

bertfivesix wrote: I'm the type that contends the glass is completely full. Of water and air.

Yeah, you have to work to empty a glass, even with a loose definition of "empty,"

Post by **HikeUp** » Fri Dec 17, 2010 10:58 am

I've heard of people that are "the glass is the wrong color" type. The dork is weak in them.

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Fri Dec 17, 2010 12:42 pm

You have a glass and you're complaining? Dude, like, whatever, OK?

Some people just don't know when they've got it good.

HJ

bertfivesix · Post by **bertfivesix** » Sat Dec 18, 2010 3:03 am

Pfft...tin cup. So bourgeois..

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Sat Dec 18, 2010 9:48 am

bertfivesix wrote: Pfft...tin cup. So bourgeois..

You have water and you call me bourgeois? So First Estate.

HJ

bertfivesix · Post by **bertfivesix** » Sat Dec 18, 2010 3:22 pm

It's not water, it's benzene.

Post by **Taco** » Sat Dec 18, 2010 3:28 pm

I don't even have hands.

bertfivesix · Post by **bertfivesix** » Sat Dec 18, 2010 11:24 pm

Braggart.

Post by **Taco** » Sun Dec 19, 2010 12:57 am

Post by **Taco** » Sun Dec 19, 2010 12:57 am

YEAH! TOP THAT!

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Sun Dec 19, 2010 8:29 pm

I'm so looking forward to taking a drive up ACH tomorrow when it opens!

bwahahahahaha

(mocking the weather, not Caltrans!)

obie · Post by **obie** » Sun Dec 19, 2010 9:33 pm

Been so long I couldn't remember when it opened last time.

This was 'Opening Day' the last time - Nov.30, 2009. Made it to 5000' and then the black ice shut me down.

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:46 am

From the Glendale News Press

Storm delays Crest opening

Rainstorms and rock falls slow final steps needed to reopen road.

By Joe Piasecki, joe.piasecki@latimes.com

4:33 PM PST, December 22, 2010

Before the skies opened up a week ago, Caltrans was very close to completing repairs needed to open Angeles Crest Highway, which has been closed up to Mt. Wilson Road since January due to roadway washouts and other post-Station-fire storm damage.

Officials hadn't announced an opening date, warning that wet weather could stall completion of paving efforts planned for Friday and Saturday at two spots — one approximately a mile north of the Angeles National Forest 's entrance from La Cañada Flintridge, the other approximately eight miles into the forest and three miles east of the Angeles Forest Highway junction, spokesman Patrick Chandler said.

Lane striping, which cannot be accomplished in wet weather, had also been planned for the weekend if paving was completed.

"Once striped, we would consider conditions on the roadway safe for motorists to use," Chandler said.

As of press time, however, heavy rains and small amounts of falling debris had postponed efforts to re-open the highway.

"There have been some rock falls up on SR-2, but really no more than we'd expect in rain like this," said spokeswoman Kelly Markham. "Because it's raining, we can't complete the striping and the paving operations, but we will begin again as soon as the rain lets up. "

Rainfall is expected to cease, at least for now, by Thursday; but light rains may fall again Christmas day.

Storms pummeling the mountain and foothill regions forced the early Sunday morning closure of county-maintained forest roads near the Station fire burn area, including Angeles Forest Highway, Big Tujunga Canyon Road and Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road. Those roads remain closed.

Post by **HikeUp** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 10:32 am

I'm shocked.

mattmaxon · Post by **mattmaxon** » Fri Dec 24, 2010 7:27 am

from the Los Angeles Times

"los angeles times December 23, 2010

Three Angeles National Forest roads closed last weekend in anticipation of flooding, debris and rock slides from storms lashing Southern California were minimally damaged and will reopen Thursday afternoon, officials said.

Angeles Forest Highway stretching from Aliso Canyon Road to Angeles Crest Highway, the Big Tujunga Canyon Road from the Los Angeles city line to Angeles Forest Highway and Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road from Angeles Forest Highway to Angeles Crest Highway will reopen by 4 p.m., officials said.

The roads were closed early Sunday morning as a safety precaution due to the threat of fires, flooding and mudslides in an area severely scarred by the Station Fire last year, said spokesman Gary Boze, of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

But the rainstorms only brought a “minimal amount” of debris, water and mud down on the roadways, he said. Cleanup crews were also able to work through the drizzle in the earlier part of the week.

“We were fairly lucky that the brunt of the storm was taken further south,” Boze said. “That is why we are able to reopen so quickly and didn’t have big problems.”

But a rock slide and mudslide did push back the long awaited reopening of Highway 2 from the edge of the Angeles National Forest north of La Canada Flintridge to Mt. Wilson road, Caltrans spokesman Patrick Chandler said.

That segment has been closed since January, when heavy rains washed out five major sections of the highway, Chandler said.

The road was scheduled to open to public use this week after months of major repair work but will now be pushed back several weeks, he said.

“A geologist is looking at the rockslide area right now where there were some large boulders,” he said. “They are going to reassess once the rain ends entirely.”

Chandler said Caltrans plans to add some features to the repair work to prevent future rock slides.

obie · Post by **obie** » Fri Dec 24, 2010 7:34 am

"Chandler said Caltrans plans to add some features to the repair work to prevent future rock slides."

The rumour kicking around the yard is that they'll move on to Global Warming once they wrap the ACH project.

mattmaxon · Post by **mattmaxon** » Fri Dec 24, 2010 7:41 am

obie wrote: "Chandler said Caltrans plans to add some features to the repair work to prevent future rock slides."

I heard "anti-gravity rocks"

Post by **HikeUp** » Fri Dec 24, 2010 8:25 am

"The roads were closed early Sunday morning as a safety precaution due to the threat of fires, flooding and mudslides in an area severely scarred by the Station Fire last year, said spokesman Gary Boze, of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works."

I told you they were worried about the concrete catching fire despite the rain. Don't doubt me.

Post by **Taco** » Fri Dec 24, 2010 11:51 am

It's them wet fires.

Post by **Taco** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 11:14 am

We wanna get up there while the temps are low!

Post by **HikeUp** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 11:53 am

http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi

enter 2 for the highway number and presto...

This highway information is the latest reported as of Thursday, December 30, 2010 at 11:48 .

SR 2
[IN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AREA]
IS CLOSED FROM 2 MI EAST OF THE EAST JCT OF I 210 TO 14 MI EAST OF
LA CANADA (LOS ANGELES CO) - DUE TO STORM DAMAGE REPAIR - MOTORISTS ARE
ADVISED TO USE AN ALTERNATE ROUTE

CHAINS OR SNOW TIRES ARE REQUIRED FROM 1 MI EAST OF NEWCOMB'S RANCH TO
ISLIP SADDLE (LOS ANGELES CO)

CHAINS ARE REQUIRED ON ALL VEHICLES EXCEPT 4-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES WITH SNOW
TIRES ON ALL 4 WHEELS FROM 5 MI WEST OF BIG PINES (LOS ANGELES CO) TO THE
LOS ANGELES/SAN BERNARDINO CO LINE

CHAINS ARE REQUIRED ON ALL VEHICLES EXCEPT 4-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES WITH SNOW
TIRES ON ALL 4 WHEELS FROM THE LOS ANGELES/SAN BERNARDINO CO LINE TO THE
JCT OF SR 138 (SAN BERNARDINO CO)

ALL TRACTOR-SEMI TRAILER COMBINATIONS WITH 3 AXLES OR GREATER ARE
PROHIBITED FROM THE JCT OF I 210 /IN LA CANADA-FLINTRIDGE/ TO THE
ANGELES FOREST HIGHWAY (LOS ANGELES CO) - ALTERNATE ROUTES ARE AVAILABLE

Looks like it is open except for these 2 areas...
1) between Islip Saddle and Vincent Gap (surmising this from the lack of chain control info in the quote above for this stretch of road)
2) between La Canada and Redbox

No first hand verification of this so...

Post by **Taco** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 12:58 pm

It was closed about a mile east of Vincent Gap a few days ago...

IS CLOSED FROM 2 MI EAST OF THE EAST JCT OF I 210

WTF does that mean?

Thanks HikeUp!

Post by **HikeUp** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 1:27 pm

5 miles west of Big Pines corresponds to Vincent Gap. Implies it's now open that last mile that was closed when you were there.

"IS CLOSED FROM 2 MI EAST OF THE EAST JCT OF I 210"

might make more sense if it read

"IS CLOSED FROM 2 MI EAST OF I 210"

I'm not good at making sense though.

Post by **Taco** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 1:57 pm

Thanks for the translation. Damn interweb robots.