"In March 1972, Kurt Stremberg's parents gave him a predawn ride from their house in northwest California to his friend's home in the tiny town of Klamath, about 20 miles south of Crescent City on Highway 101. Stremberg, then 24, and his buddy were going to hitch a ride on a log truck bound for San Francisco, catch a flight to Europe, and see the world."
"For decades, residents of California's remote northwest corner have been pleading with government officials to do something about Last Chance Grade, an eroding, three-mile stretch of highway hugging the fog-shrouded cliffs between the redwood forest and the Pacific Ocean. It is a critical thoroughfare - the only viable route linking Crescent City, a tsunami-prone town of 6,200 people, with neighboring Humboldt County and the rest of the state."
In March 1972, Kurt Stremberg's parents drove him to a friend's home in Klamath and, minutes later, a landslide at Last Chance Grade caused their Ford sedan to plunge over a cliff, killing them both. For decades residents have urged action on Last Chance Grade, an eroding three-mile stretch of Highway 101 that hugs cliffs between the redwood forest and the Pacific Ocean. The road is the only viable route linking Crescent City, a tsunami-prone town of about 6,200 people, with neighboring Humboldt County and the rest of the state. Perched atop four active landslides with warped, cracked pavement, the two-lane road was limited to one-way traffic for nine years until reopening in October 2023 and has recently been down to a single lane again. Decades of patching holes and building retaining walls have provided only temporary repairs.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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