When Mil Potrero Highway was built (by Tenneco, at their expense), Kern County Roads department wanted a project MUCH different than what we got. (The process, in abbreviated terms, works like this: the developer constructs the road to a pre-determined set of standards (grade (or steepness), width, radius of curves and banking of the roadway, and drainage, etc.) Once the road is built, it is accepted by and dedicated to the County, who assumes responsibility for the maintenance of the road.
Since Tenneco was picking up the tab, the County plan called for a wide, well-shouldered, well-drained road, with a minimum number of tight curves, and without steep grades. The County plan placed the road in roughly the same path as the original dirt trail/road into PMC from the Mt. Pinos Highway-Cuddy Valley Road turn-off, through to the west end of the development, at Cedarwood Drive. This dirt road turned northwest from where the road is today across from the gate to the now-defunct CSO camp. It followed the creekbed down into San Emigdio Canyon, crossed the creek at the bottom, and headed back up the other canyon (Cloudburst), meeting Nesthorn Way where the gate is now. This route is much more direct, with little up and down stretches. The road could have been constructed to a more acceptable standard width, and would have been on the NORTH side of the canyon, allowing the sun to reach most of the pavement in winter, which would have eliminated many of the daytime black ice problems we have today. Also, the plan called for adequate drainage, using gutters and culverts, instead of directing the water to the middle of the roadway to be drained at the bottom of each hill.
The kicker in this whole plan was that the road had to cross the main channel of the creek at the bottom of Cloudburst Canyon where it meets the main canyon. Depending on the design, one or two bridges would have had to be built across the creek, capable of withstanding a major flood. Engineering studies estimated the cost at upwards of $500,000 dollars. This is in 70's dollars, and that was a LOT of money then; actually more than the entire road eventually cost. So..........
Tenneco "persuaded" the County Roads department to "accept" a different alignment of the road: one that followed a former fire road on the south, mostly above the floor of the canyon, and well above the creek. The road followed the contours of the land, with few cuts or filled gullies. It was steep (steeper than county standards), and narrower, too. The route was higher, and on the shady side of the canyon. Again, Tenneco claimed the road was for summer access to Pine Mountain Club, and winter conditions were irrelevant.
The narrowness and grade of the road led to many problems once the need for winter access became apparent. The county didn't want to plow it, and once they were "persuaded" to, they fitted their plow trucks with rubber-edged plow blades, that left a layer of snow/ice on the roadway. This method saved the pavement, but had a "Zamboni" effect on the road surface, one the snow/ice re-froze. Luckily, in those first few years, not too many people traveled the road in winter, at least not so many that they ran into each other-- if you spun out, or got stuck, it wasn't likely that someone would come along and hit you, but it did happen occasionally. The biggest hazard was sliding OFF the road: into a culvert or a gully, or a tree, or down a steep hillside. The reputation of Mil Potrero Highway became so bad that the school district refused to send buses down the road when it was icy or snowing.
Soon, a cry went out for guard rails. If only the county would spend some of our abundant tax dollars here in PMC, and install life-saving guard rails! "Well, YES!" replied the county, "As soon as the funds are available, all the roads in Kern County will be put into tip-top shape. We have a list, and it is prioritized by usage (and a few other things) but it doesn't matter right now, because we have no funds, and don't really foresee having them anytime soon." "But, you (the property owners in PMC) could always form a District, and tax yourselves, and Kern County will gladly help you spend the money."
A number of residents complained that the county was already collecting enough taxes to provide adequate roads that would be safe in all types of weather, and the county officials agreed (citing the priority list again) and said guardrails would be installed eventually, whenever funds became available (yeah, right!). There was another way..... CSA 40. It essentially was a District, and if enough property owners signed a petition, the Service Area could be used to pay for the construction and maintenance of a guardrail system. The debate became heated at times, whether to try to make the county live up to its perceived responsibilities, or to take the shorter more expensive route, and pay for the guardrails now, and get them right away. The petition was circulated, and enough property owners signed to make the project happen. No vote was necessary: the project was funded by a "fee", not a "tax". (Sound familiar???)
I felt at the time, and still feel, that the cost per lot (about $30 per year, for something like 11 years) was reasonable to make the road safer, and that waiting for the county to come around was futile. In addition, IF Tenneco had built the more expensive road, WITH guardrails, etc., they would have had to pass the additional cost along to the initial buyers of the development, AND it would have increased property values somewhat, so we all would have paid for it anyway. (The so-called no-free-lunch theory).
When the idea of a county-funded project was first proposed to Kern County Roads department, the good-ole boys there had all kinds of reasons why guardrails just weren't workable on a road like Mil Potrero. "The guardrails will impinge on the roadway that's already too narrow" (Not true: the rails are behind the berm which defines the edge of the shoulder.) "Guardrails will not allow the plows to push the snow off the road" (Not true: the plows push the snow to the rails, which then force the moving snow up and over.) These and many other "excuses" went totally away when PMC agreed to pick up the tab for the County to do the work!
A sad sidebar to this story. At least two people would most likely still be alive if guardrails had been in place on Mil Potrero when they unfortunately were involved in crashes there. Myra Irwin was the passenger in a compact pickup that skidded on gravel at the top of the "S" curves just west of Ward Drive one sunny afternoon. The truck plunged over the edge and overturned. She was ejected and fatally injured. Robin Parker lost control of her small compact car near the Whitener Tree (probably on a frosty road) and was pinned in her car at the bottom of the embankment. She died from internal injuries before reaching the hospital. Both fatalities may have been avoided if the vehicles remained on the road. In all fairness, if either of the victims had been wearing seatbelts, they may have survived even without the guardrails. Unfortunately, the programs to enforce seatbelt use had not yet been started.
A memorial plaque is affixed to a large rock located in the turn-out at the bottom of the "S" curves, near San Moritz Drive.
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