Crossing Bridges on SR-38
for Boy Scout Camp
E T
RUSSELL ___ Mountain
transportation on State Route 38 will be re-routed near the Barton Flats area, Wednesday
October 15th. Caltrans District 8 issued a notice of a closure of the
SR-38 beginning at 8:30 A.M. and reopening by 3:30 P.M. A detour will be available on Jenks Lake Road around
a bridge installation site.
A
100 ft. long pedestrian and horse bridge will be installed across State Route
38, connecting
the two halves of Camp Tahquitz, which is bisected by the highway.
An
alternate to State Route 38, will be State Route 18 that
will be completely open from Snow Valley
to the Big Bear Dam, Wednesday, October 15, 2014 while SR 38 is closed for the
permit project. Visit: http://www.bigbearlake.net/etnews/revised-sr-18-closure-schedule-
The
Long Beach Area Council, Boy Scouts of America has been owned and operated Camp
Tahquitz by since the late 1950's. The forested camp was purchased through a
bequest from the estate of early Long Beach community leader, Will J. Reid.
Until
the early 60s, SR-38 pavement ended a few miles beyond Camp Tahquitz. Today, the
highway is a primary access route to the mountain resort communities of Big
Bear Lake and Big Bear City. Today, Camp Tahquitz has Scout program areas on
both sides of State Route 38, generating over 20,000 pedestrian crossings a
year; is a now thoroughfare, connecting the communities as well as numerous
camps.
After visiting Camp Tahquitz to evaluate the outdoor
youth camping and outdoor education programs, the AS&F Foundation decided
to fund a critical ‘Safe Passage Bridge’ for future generations of Scouts and
SoCal youth groups. The bridge project has been in the planning for more than
four years along with the cooperative effort of the District 8 office of
Caltrans and State Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal.
Anyone
interested in contributing to other camp projects, such as a dining lodge for
future generations of campers, contact the Long Beach Area Council BSA at P.O.
Box 7338, Long Beach CA 90807 or call our BSA Council Development Director,
Marc Bonner at (562) 427-0911.