The end of the road has come for Highway 173, where the pavement ends northwest of Lake Arrowhead.
Caltrans is closing the road — the last dirt road in the state highway system — to cut maintenance costs and eliminate an unsafe road in the remote San Bernardino Mountains.
Residents are lamenting the loss of the unpaved portion of the highway, a 29-mile link between Highway 18 near Skyforest on the southern slope to the Silverwood Lake area northwest of the mountains. Locals say the route remains a vital connection to the High Desert, especially if disaster strikes the mountains.
via Caltrans closes last dirt highway in state system | Breaking News | PE.com – Press-Enterprise.
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