Carpenter Summit is a highway pass name approved through the through the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

. This pass was created during the construction of I-8 from 1972 to 1974 in this area, but was never named unlike the three other then named during construction. The name “Carpenter Summit” was proposed in late 2019 then submitted and as of October 2020 pending the various levels of place name acceptance. This highway pass is the first of four which were completed through the

Cuyamaca Mountains The Cuyamaca Mountains (Kumeyaay: ''‘Ekwiiyemak''), locally the Cuyamacas, are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System, in San Diego County, southern California. The mountain range runs roughly northwest to southeast. The Laguna Mountai ...

of southeastern

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

and traversed by

Interstate 8 Interstate 8 (I-8) is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the southern edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with I-10, jus ...

East bound at an altitude of and West bound at . The freeway is divided at this location by an east–west ridge with a peak of .
Google Street view of I-8 East bound 4,000 foot elevation sign. Google Street view of I-8 West bound 4,000 foot elevation sign.
Of the four highway summits eastward of San Diego, the Laguna Summit is the second. The third is

Crestwood Summit Crestwood Summit is a highway pass through the Cuyamaca Mountains of southeastern San Diego County, California, traversed by Interstate 8. Its elevation is westbound, and eastbound. It is the highest point on Interstate 8. Of the four highway s ...

followed by the

Tecate Divide The Tecate Divide is a mountain ridge in southeastern San Diego County, California, running in a north-south direction on the southeast fringe of the Cuyamaca Mountains. It reaches an altitude of , and passes between the towns of Live Oak Springs ...

Construction

The Interstate 8 route was realigned from Arnold Way onto Alpine Boulevard as it passed through

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

and the Viejas Indian Reservation, before entering the

Laguna Mountains The Laguna Mountains are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System in eastern San Diego County, southern California. The mountains run in a northwest/southeast alignment for approximately . The mountains have long been inhabited by the ...

and the

Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres (), mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the forest. It is the southernmost U.S. National Forest of California. It is administered by the ...

mostly paralleling the alignment used by old US 80. By August 1970, the remainder of the freeway had been funded in this area, with the part from Japatul Valley Road to Laguna Junction costing $22 million (about $ in dollars), (about $ in dollars). By the beginning of 1974, the new projected completion date for this I-8 section was mid-1975, with of two-lane highway remaining. The new Pine Valley Creek bridge and the segment extending from Japatul Valley Road to Pine Valley was dedicated on November 24, 1974, and was scheduled to open on November 26; this left of freeway to be constructed. The final stretch of I-8 in California, from Sunrise Highway to La Posta Road, was completed in May 1975.

Construction

References

See also