Route 66 already feeling effects of government shutdown

The shutdown of the United States government started only a few hours ago, and the Route 66 corridor is not immune to its effects.

— The office of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program in Santa Fe, N.M., is closed. As part of the National Park Service, the office cannot offer help on grants and other areas to businesses along the Mother Road because the entire agency has been shut down.

— The Petrified Forest National Park in eastern Arizona is closed. A section of very old Route runs through the center of the park, and a section of the pays tribute to the road.

— The Grand Canyon National Park, a common side trip for Route 66 travelers, is closed for the same reasons as above.

— Other National Park Service historic properties, such as the Lincoln Home in Springfield, Ill., have closed.

— The National Register of Historic Places office in Washington, D.C., has closed.

— All websites related to the National Park Service are down except for a very rudimentary home page.

— Campgrounds at U.S. Forest Service properties have closed.

Most Americans won’t start to feel the effects of the shutdown until about mid-October. But the towns of Williams, Ariz., and Holbrook, Ariz., which derive a lot of tourist income from those two nearby national parks, will suffer well before then.

About the only thing good about the shutdown was it occurred in October, which is the off-season for tourism.

A good rundown of all the things affected by the current shutdown is found at Wikipedia.

(Image from the Route 66 exhibit at the Petrified Forest National Park by CashKate via Flickr)

6 thoughts on “Route 66 already feeling effects of government shutdown

  1. I was doing the math and most of the Congressional districts Route 66 runs through a held by Republicans. Checking the House votes all of them voted to close the Government down. The Democrats are from California, New Mexico and Illinois. A majority of the Republicans are Tea Partiers as well. Unless my math is wrong. Could be, Route 66 had an awful lot of reroutes.

      1. Actually, the Senate passed an actual stop-gap spending bill, and the crazies in the House are holding the American people hostage because they don’t like a bill particular Congress passed, supported by a president the *majority* of Americans voted for.

  2. If the Congress, especially the Senate, would conduct business through regular order, they would pass 13 appropriation bills and there would be no need for a”stop gap” funding measure at the last minute again. The Senate has not passed a funding bill passed by the House in more than 2 years.
    All facilities will reopen and people who intend to travel Rt. 66 will still do so.

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