One hundred years ago, construction began on a new road dubbed the Plank Road. It was built to cross the Imperial Sand Dunes and provided the first direct route for motorists traveling between San Diego and Arizona.

The road became a reality due to a San Diego man by the name of Col. Ed Fletcher. Fletcher was a land developer and promoter. In the early 1900s, Fletcher was promoting San Diego as “the” place to live, visit and do business. However, there was one major impediment – the Imperial Sand Dunes.

Back then, if a motorist wanted to get across the desert between Holtville, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz. (located about two miles south of Winterhaven, Calif.), the only way to do so was to go around the dunes, either by going south through Mexico, or heading north through Brawley – both of which were significant detours to make in a Model T.

Fletcher, the first Road Commissioner of San Diego County, began to raise money for lumber to build a wooden road that would cross the dunes, after a county supervisor suggested the idea.

The single-lane road was built like railroad tracks. Bolted wooden boards ran parallel to each other, about the width of a car apart from each other. The boards were brought in by teams of mules and laid end to end, with only spiked crossbars connecting them. The road was purposely designed this way so the planks could be easily detached from one another and moved.

This portability was necessary because sand dunes constantly shift. While a stationary road would quickly be covered by sand, the planks of the road could be pried apart and dragged back on top of the sand.

Unfortunately, heavy usage and severe weather conditions made the road barely passable after only a year. Fletcher thus began raising more money, this time to build the road out of detachable 8-foot-wide, 12-foot-long prefabricated decks of wood.

Click to enlarge.

The sections were designed along the same lines as the first Plank Road so they could be easily detached from one another and moved as the sands drifted. This was an improvement, but road maintenance crews were constantly needed to scrape sand off of the road and pull free and reposition the boards that had become covered in sand.

As one might be expect, travel on the road was dangerous. Some travelers succumbed to heat exhaustion and dehydration. The road also caused another unexpected problem: road rage. The new, improved road was still only large enough for one vehicle (or a group of vehicles traveling in one direction). Although the road had pullouts, they were at one-mile intervals. As such, cars would sometimes meet, and if neither would agree to back up, a fist fight would ensue. Some travelers on the road even began toting boxing gloves on their trips.

On one occasion, road rage was avoided by an imaginative group. A group of 20 cars traveling down the Plank Road encountered a single car going in the opposite direction. The lone driver, for unknown reasons, refused to back up to a turnout. Finally, the men of the larger group decided to lift the car off of the road while the women of the party drove past in their cars. When they were through, the men were nice enough to lift the other driver’s car back onto the road.

Despite problems, usage of the Plank Road continued to increase. The road significantly facilitated commerce and transportation through the Imperial Valley at this time. Travelers enjoyed the adventure and often stopped along the way to have picnics and camp overnight.

However, by the early 1920s, highway officials decided that a better, more permanent solution was needed to cross the Imperial Sand Dunes. This eventually led to the construction of Highway 80 (now Interstate 8), which led to travelers abandoning the Plank Road. When this happened, many of the pieces were removed or destroyed. Fortunately, some of the pieces were saved and are on display at the San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park. Fletcher’s family members also kept a few pieces.

In the 1970s, the Bureau of Land Management fenced off the only remaining part of the Plank Road in order to preserve it. The remaining fragments have been designated an “area of critical environmental concern” under the jurisdiction of the BLM. On Jan. 21, 1971, the state designated it a California Historical Landmark, due to the historical significance that the Plank Road played in early American transportation and Western migration history.

Remnants of the Plank Road are now protected, and the fenced section may be viewed up close at the west end of Gray’s Well Road by taking the Gray’s Well Road exit on Interstate 8. A Plank Road Monument and interpretive wayside panels are also located there.

The Plank Road was only about seven miles long and remained in use for only about 11 years, but it is a shining example of Californian ingenuity, perseverance and sense of adventure.

Linda Castro is a nature enthusiast and animal lover. She is the Desert Field Organizer for the California Wilderness Coalition and serves on the board of the SCV-based Community Hiking Club. Her articles highlight local and community stories that are heartwarming, uplifting or inspiring.