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A drive down the historic norwegian grade moorpark road in thousand oaks
The Norwegian Grade is a two-mile stretch of Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks, California, United States, carved out of a steep hillside by members of the Norwegian Colony and their hired help between 1900 and 1911. For construction, they used picks, shovels, crowbars, farm equipment, and $60 worth of dynamite given by the county of Ventura. At its 100th anniversary, the grade was serving over 6000 cars every day.
Contents
- A drive down the historic norwegian grade moorpark road in thousand oaks
- Norwegian grade
- Construction Methods
- Renovation
- Bicylists on the Grade
- References
Nils Olsen, George Hanson, Ole Nelson, Lars Pederson, and Ole Anderson purchased 650 acres (260 ha) in 1890 along the northern boundary of Rancho El Conejo. These settlers, known as the Norwegian Colony, needed a safe way to move bales of hay and sacks of wheat and barley to the Oxnard Plain and the Hueneme Wharf. The new route down the grade would allow a gradual descent with no hairpin turns down into the Santa Rosa Valley and would be safer than existing routes to the Oxnard Plain and Moorpark.
Nearby California Lutheran University is located at the site of the Norwegian Colony. The campus was donated by the Pederson family, who were among many Scandinavian immigrants populating the hills of northern section of the Conejo Valley. The historic Joel McCrea Ranch is at the bottom of the grade at the head of the Santa Rosa Valley.
Norwegian grade
Construction Methods
In the early 1900s, there were no bulldozers, earth moving equipment, etc. Work was done by hand using a star drill and a sledge hammer to pound holes into the very hard volcanic rock; dynamite was inserted into the holes, fuses lit, everyone ran for cover, and it blew. The resulting rocks and debris were moved by hand and a horse-drawn fresno scraper to build the narrow, one-lane roadway.
Construction was done in the winter and early spring months because baling and harvesting took precedence during the summer and fall. The grade was later widened to two lanes.
Renovation
The Grade was shut down on September 30, 2010, to allow for 1.5 million dollars of structural improvements. These improvements included regrading and repaving, adding flashing Botts Dots, and reinforcing guard rails. The reopened Grade was dedicated on Jan 26, 2011, with a memorial plaque and ceremony.
Bicylists on the Grade
As of 2013, there is no bike lane on the Grade, due to the lack of any shoulder on much of the route. However, since it is the only surface street that connects Thousand Oaks to Moorpark, Camarillo, and further cities, bicyclists use the designated bike lane along California State Route 23 Freeway between Tierra Rejada Road to Olsen Road. Locals frequently express their frustration with both bicyclists and drivers on the Historic Norwegian Grade. Until the construction of California State Route 23 Freeway, this was also the most direct route between Moorpark and Thousand Oaks for auto and truck traffic.