The
ZIP Code is 93243, and the community is inside telephone
area code 661. A United States post office operated at Grapevine from 1923 to 1960. The community of
Wheeler Ridge lies three miles north of Grapevine on Interstate 5, with
Lebec nine miles south. , abandoned when
U.S. Route 99 (later upgraded to I-5) was constructed over the
Tejon Pass in order to make travel straighter and safer Before the road was straightened and widened during 1933–1934 by the three-lane
Ridge Route Alternate (
U.S. Route 99), the Grapevine was infamous for its high accident rate. Escape ramps branch off both sides of the downward part of the road for heavy trucks whose brakes fail on this five-mile, 6% grade that descends 1,600 ft (490 m). The Grapevine is subject to severe weather and closure to traffic in winter. The stretch of I-5 through the Grapevine and the Tejon Pass is sometimes closed by the
California Highway Patrol, generally because of icy conditions in winter months, combined with the steep grade of the pass and the high volume of traffic. Occasionally, heavy rains will cause mud and rock slides, closing the highway. The Highway Patrol is also concerned, especially with the large number of
big-rigs that pass through, that just one accident in the icy or snowy conditions might force traffic to slow down or come to a complete stop, leaving hundreds of vehicles stalled at once. Whenever there is such a closure, traffic must either wait for it to reopen, or endure a slow, multi-hour detour. ==Landmark==