Our Central Valley
By STEVE NEWVINE
If you spend any time on California Highway 99 south of Madera, you are aware of the palm and the pine.
Two trees, the palm representing southern California and the pine (actually in this case a cedar) representing northern California, have been in the median just south of the Route 12 exit for decades.
The trees represent the center of California, the midpoint between the Mexican and the Oregon borders. The trees let drivers know they are crossing from the palm trees of southern California to the pine trees of the north, or vice versa. The trees were planted decades ago. But with no solid record of why they were planted, there have been all kinds of stories about whose idea it was to create this symbol of the center of the state.
The late Huell Howser, host of the California Gold program on PBS (and now on YouTube) devoted an episode of his travel show in the 1990s to the trees. Another version of the story tells of two college students planting the trees. Still another version points to a store owner who may have planted them to promote his business.
I’ve written about the trees over the years and used the phrase palm and pine as a subtitle for three of my books. The webmaster for a site that published my columns a few years ago told me that when the subject of the palm and pine came up, the site would get hundreds of new visits from people seeking to learn more about the trees. I have been interviewed by news organizations in Los Angeles and Sacramento about the trees and what they mean to the region.
A couple of years ago, Caltrans announced an expansion of that section of Highway 99. The two trees will be taken out, but in their place will be a new presentation that promises to be an improvement over what we have seen in the past.
The plan calls for 15 pine and fifteen palm trees to be planted along the west side of Highway 99 a short distance from the current spot. Caltrans believes the 30 new trees will give motorists passing by at seventy-miles per hour a better view of the palm and the pine.
Recently, the public relations officer for this part of the Caltrans territory told to me that the lone palm and pine will be removed from the median in 2027. So there’s time between now and then to get a final look.
It may have taken the state a while to figure out a better way to show off the center of the state, but with highway expansion a necessity, this time was right.
According to the Caltrans plan for the new palm and pine display, the spot will be an upgraded regional landmark symbolizing the center of California. The Caltrans plan states: ‘Where the Palm Meets the Pine’ landmark trees add to the visual character of the project corridor.
Caltrans considered two other options when it became clear this portion of Highway 99 was ready for expansion. Both rejected options would have kept the location of the trees in an expanded median. Both were dropped as it impacted the width of the shoulders of the road, restricted maintenance access, and posed safety concerns.
When the highway expansion started, Caltrans Public Information Officer Larry Johnson told me, “With the added lanes, one in each direction, and the new center divider, the trees had to come out.”
When finished, this section of Highway 99 will have six lanes of traffic. The roadway has been in a seemingly perpetual state of expansion over the past decade including widening projects here in Merced County over the past few years.
The exact location on Highway 99 is of little worry given that the actual geographical center of the state is about forty-miles due east from the roadway in North Fork, Madera County.
While there were some concerns expressed by groups in and around Madera when the plan was announced, Caltrans explained that the selection option was best in regards to regular maintenance of the trees and highway safety.
The future home for the palm and the pine will be an upgrade from the current location. It is intended to draw attention to this unique spot in the state, while assuring that drivers will get to their destinations as safely as possible. —
Steve Newvine lives in Merced, his California books are available at the Merced County Courthouse Museum gift shop and online at: Lulu.com/spotlight/stevenewvine