July 7, 1971
The Cuesta Grade has gone through at least two major remodels since these photos were made. A divider was added and then more recently the road expanded to three lanes. It was a wild road with a single lane in each direction before it was expanded in the 1930′s.
Here is the front page copy block.
Cuesta Grade brinkmanship
Highway 101 near the foot of Cuesta Grade was closed shortly before noon today to get this rig back on the roadway. Terry R. Mills of Wasco was northbound at 4:30 a.m. when he ran out of fuel. He parked on the shoulder and went on foot to get some. While gone, the tractor and trailer loaded with foodstuff took off and settled on the brink of disaster. The highway patrol said there was no injury.
Photo by Wayne Nicholls
Anyone have a favorite Cuesta Grade story to share?
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Back in the 1990s on Highway 1 just south of Ragged Point, an 18-wheeler produce truck headed south from the resort at the county line had the rear wheels of the truck slip off the the road in a hair-pin curve. The truck slid off the road and was a fixture on the road for more than six weeks. It took a big crane working at night to get the trailer back on the road and the produce, now reduced to compost fodder, to the dump.
Being the daughter of the owner of the big rig tow trucks in the 70′s I remember many run away trucks down the south side of the grade. It was dangerous work towing and cleaning up those accidents. I have also seen a few spin outs on the south downhill when people would suddenly decide to turn out on those gravel areas along the highway. one time a woman spun around and was ejected into the slow lane. I was barely able to avoid hitting her.