The fate of an original section of Route 66 in Springfield, Missouri, remains up in the air after the Kum & Go convenience-store chain recently bought the property on which it sits.
The Springfield News-Leader reports the piece of road on 2.9 acres on the southeast corner of Glenstone Avenue and Kearney Street (map here) was purchased June 13 from the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Kum & Go spokeswoman Kristi Bell told the newspaper she would try to find out what the company plans to do with the road.
An email to Kum & Go’s headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, asking about the fate of the road went unanswered. Per its website, Kum & Go can be reached by email at customerrelations(at)kumandgo(dot)com.
Tommy Pike, president of the Route 66 Association of Missouri and a Springfield resident, told the News-Leader he hoped Kum & Go would consider the road’s historic value.
“I remember when that was a two-lane intersection with a four-way stop […] The association years ago tried to get that corner for a roadside Route 66 park. We wanted to lease it for 99 years, but it didn’t work out.” […]
“It’ll be a big loss for history, I think,” he said (if they the road were removed). […]
Pike said he hopes someone from Kum & Go will talk to him before any decision is made about altering or removing the Route 66 section on its property.
“I would encourage them to keep it as a piece of our history,” Pike said.
Pike added he hoped Kum & Go would reconsider because of legislation to name Route 66 a National Historic Trail that is moving through Congress.
A MoDOT spokeswoman said the only other original section of Route 66 in Springfield is near the corner of College Street and Chestnut Expressway, but it’s much less accessible. The old road at Kearney and Glenstone remains open to traffic.
UPDATE: In a new story by a Springfield television station, Pike now thinks the original road will remain partially intact:
“Just saw the plans. It appears they’re not going to destroy the road,” says Pike. “They were talking that, there are some sections just like we’re standing on that’s not in the greatest of shape. Maybe they’d cut it up and put new pavement down. I hate to see them do it but I’d rather see it tidied up that cut up into pieces and hauled off in a dump truck.”
UPDATE 7/17/2018: Kum & Go spokeswoman Kasey Davis stated in an email Tuesday:
Kum & Go plans to build a new store at the corner of Kearney and Glenstone in Springfield, near an existing access road recognized by enthusiasts as a part of the original Route 66. There are no plans to change the placement of the access road, and it will be used to access the Kum & Go once the store opens later this year.
To ensure its structural integrity and to meet city codes, the road must be widened and resurfaced. These improvements will also accommodate increased traffic and preserve the placement of the road for many years to come. To commemorate the historical significance of Route 66, Kum & Go plans to place commemorative signage near the road and at the store.
UPDATE4: The Springfield News-Leader in an new story the surface of the original highway will be milled, but Kum & Go will recognize its history. It talked to company spokeswoman Kristie Bell:
Bell said construction crews will mill the original concrete roadway down about two inches, then layer it with asphalt and make it wider to accommodate traffic to the store. She said city regulations required the road to be widened.
A short section of cracked Route 66 pavement at the Kearney Street entrance already has been jackhammered to make way for a new entrance. Early Tuesday, a bulldozer was knocking down some of the trees that have shaded that corner for years.
Bell also said the company might include the Route 66 shield where the ampersand exists in the Kum & Go logo.
(Excerpted image from Google Street View of original Route 66 on the southeast corner of Glenstone Avenue and Kearney Street in Springfield, Missouri)
Looking at the map, there appears to be no reason for not incorporating this short length of Route 66 into any development of the site. The concrete roadway looks to be in good condition.