Old US Route 99 - Los Angeles, CA to Calexico, CA - High Speed Driving Video

Hi Folks! Here is Old US Route 99 from Los Angeles to Calexico at the Mexican border. If you know my videos already, I love US Route 99, as well as other old routes. You can find my Ridge Route videos here:

LA to Bakersfield
   • Brand New! 4K! Old Ridge Routh & U.S....  

Bakersfield to LA
   • Brand New! 4K! The Old Ridge Route & ...  

As you may or may not know, US 99 was a route that stretched from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. For its length through California, it was called, “California’s Main Street” because of its vital importance to both travel and commerce. US 99 traveled through every type of climate and topography that California offers.

Fewer of you may be familiar with the stretch that I have covered here than say, the US 99 from Los Angeles through central and northern California. This section, to me, is just as amazing as the northern sections because it went from urban Los Angeles through the Inland Empire, through Coachella Valley, and then through Imperial Valley. These areas of California are so vastly different that, well, you’ll just have to see for yourself. It’s cool that you’re starting in Imperial Valley because you’ll see little towns and then really wide open spaces that Old US Route 99 made its way through, carrying millions of travelers of old to their destinations. Your parents and grandparents surely took US 99 if they were anywhere in California back then.

As with US 99 in central and northern California, parts of it are buried, but this time, under Interstate 10, rather than Interstate 5. Much of the route exists through most of the Inland Empire, but as we go through San Gorgonio Pass, in a lot of tighter places, Old US Route 99 and already used the very best alignment, so they simply built Interstate 10 over it, during parts of US 99 forever. In this video, I make it clear when we are on the original route, and when we jump onto Interstate 10. But luckily, I’m guessing because of Southern California’s arid climate, the large portions of US 99 and its precursor routes that weren’t buried by Interstate 10 still remain in reasonably good condition, with maybe a few bumps here and there, which you will undoubtedly feel along with me.

Some of the portions of road that I show were not always easy to get to, but I never broke any laws getting to them, so if you are determined to see some of these stretches yourself, you can still find them with the exception of Roberts Road in Banning, which is about to be demolished for a development. I feel very lucky to have filmed on it because it has a long portion of the original concrete slab that comprised most of the route before US 99 was later widened to accommodate more lanes.

Sadly, the Whitewater Bridge shown in this video was permanently damaged by the water runoff from Tropical Storm Hilary in August of 2023. I am very thankful to have shot the footage of this historical bridge while making this video on July 27, 2023, just twenty days before it was damaged beyond repair.

Please pardon the spot that is on my windshield. Just a few months ago, I got a rock kicked up from an eighteen wheeler’s tire in the Grapevine that chipped the windshield. I’m still not quite ready to spend the $750 to replace it.

I hope that you enjoy watching this video. It was my great pleasure finding the route and recording it for all of our collective posterity. The reverse direction of this video is already done. Just search my channel for it if you’d like to watch it. And I want to thank you sincerely for watching these videos. I really enjoy making them, and it’s a kick to know that there are some other people out there who love this stuff too. -Fred Herrman - “Rapid Topography“

Please note that this is one of the videos on Rapid Topography that will have mid-roll ad breaks. I only add these mid-roll ads to the larger project that I do since they take a lot of time and effort and gasoline. The majority of daily drive on my channel do not have mid-roll ad breaks.

Here is the U.S. Route 99/Ridge Route playlist:
   • U.S. Route 99/Ridge Route  

Music:
“Grey” by On Wave
“Free Spirit” by Yotam Ben Horin
“Sunlight” by The Secret Sea
“Erikone” by Dan Zeitune
“I Can Learn To Fly” by Ge Filter Fish
“Righteous Ones” by Gumo
“Much” by Con Davison
“Where I’m Going” by Sunriver
“Higher Than The Rain” by Roni Bar Hadas
“Funny Hunny” by The Polarity
“Renewed Time” by Stephen Keech
“M.A.C.H 3” by Mintz
“Through Their Mind” by Stevie Ross
“Remember” by VESHZA

All Music is licensed through ArtList:
https://artlist.io