Hemmings Motor News published a valuable story with the headline “What’s behind the push to designate Route 66 a National Historic Trail?” that provides a lot of background behind the initiative.
It appears the story was prompted by Mobil 1’s current “Keep Route 66 Kickin'” tour, which includes an online petition to support a national-trail bill.
The story goes into the history of Route 66, the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program and current lobbying efforts by the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership to designate Route 66 as a national history trail.
Hemmings neatly summarized the benefits of making Route 66 a national historic trail:
Designation doesn’t necessarily lead to federal improvements or restoration of the trails, but it does come with some material benefits. Consistent signage along the length of the trail is one such benefit, along with documentation of the trail’s route in the Federal Register and other government publications.
The Act establishing the National Historic Trails system does give Congress power to acquire land up to a quarter of a mile on either side of the trail to protect the integrity of the trail, though that power has rarely been used.
More importantly, designation opens up trails to funding opportunities, either through a line item in the budget of the federal agency that administers the trail or by giving weight and standing to the volunteer organizations and non-profits that Congress recognizes for developing and maintaining the trails. […]
(A third effort, focused on recommissioning Route 66, has attracted some adherents, though many preservationists say that the plan is unworkable given current highway funding requirements.)
Route 66 News has advocated for a Route 66 National Historic Trail for more than 10 years now for most of the reasons Hemmings has stated above. Still, it’s good that one of the leading automotive websites has put out a reminder of what it’s important.
Hemmings stated in its conclusion that “given the efforts to preserve it and the dreamers, cruisers, tourists, nomads, and even the futurists who still ply its pavement, Route 66 likely will not pass from American road culture for some time regardless of how Congress acts.”
However, it is still our contention that as Route 66’s centennial approaches in 2026, pressure will ramp up on Congress to pass such national-trail legislation before that time.
(Image of a Route 66 shield on the road in Adrian, Texas, by Thomas Hawk via Flickr)
Ha, I was just posting this to the OK Association FB page. Glad to see this get some attention!