Skip to main content

Bitterwater Road

By
Back in February after some significant rains had fallen I decided a rural drive was in order and took Bitterwater Road from California State Route 46 south to California State Route 58.


Bitterwater Road is a rural road 32 miles in length in the Temblor Ranges near the San Andreas Fault.  Most of Bitterwater Road is within San Luis Obispo County with a small portion in Kern County.  From CA 46 south the first segment of Bitterwater Road is in San Luis Obispo County.


Most of Bitterwater Road is extremely poorly maintained; especially the northern segment in San Luis Obispo County which is largely open range.  The roadway is wide enough for two vehicles and isn't a difficult drive aside from the local animal population.



Bitterwater Road takes a sudden easterly shift approaching Annette Road where it briefly enters Kern County.  Annette Road more or less takes traffic northward towards Keck's Corner on CA 46.



This photo looking south along the Kern County portion of Bitterwater is one of my personal favorite monochrome road photos.  I really love the conveyance of desolate isolation the fog and narrow roadway adds.


It isn't too long southbound before Bitterwater Road reenters San Luis Obispo County and obtains a center stripe.  This segment is much more well maintained and remains a mostly normal roadway south to CA 58.


Water drainage along Bitterwater Road is virtually non-existent along the entire 32 miles.


There is a brief climb up to a summit which is approximately 2,300 feet above sea level.  The road is bad enough to slow down to about 40 MPH climbing uphill southbound.





The cow population proved an issue for me on the February trip down Bitterwater Road, especially at summit.  After waiting for about five minutes I got a lucky break and trucker scared the bovine obstruction back to their farm.


After passing the cattle ranches the La Panza Range to the southwest came into view covered in clouds.  Bitterwater Road straightens out significantly approaching it's southern terminus at CA 58.





For some reason Bitterwater Road never was part of the Signed County Route program despite being really an ideal for it.  I've generally used Bitterwater Road to get from the Fresno area south to Soda Lake in the Carrizo Plain National Monument in the past.  I don't have any clear maps showing when Bitterwater Road was built but it appears to have been completed some time after the 1930s.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more