Oklahoma Route 66 was designated a National Scenic Byway, and Arizona's Route 66 was given All-American Road status in an announcement by the U.S. Department of Transportation chief Ray LaHood on Friday. LaHood said: “By enriching the National Scenic Byways program with their own unique historical or aesthetic quality, these new additions help our national … Continue reading Oklahoma, Arizona Route 66 awarded new road designations
Category: Highways
Refurbishing old vehicles
The Tulsa World had a couple of articles last week about old vehicles being restored to as good as new in Oklahoma. The first was about the Maggie M, an electric trolley that served the Route 66 town of Sapulpa from 1919 to 1933. After it was taken out of service, the trolley sat decaying … Continue reading Refurbishing old vehicles
Federal grants awarded for Route 66 tourism
The Illinois Department of Transportation announced several federal grants that will go toward tourism, including Route 66 sites. According to the Belleville News-Democrat, $395,000 will be used to erect "experience hubs" and signs for Route 66 from East St. Louis to Chicago. Also, in New Mexico, the state will receive $365,000 in federal funds to … Continue reading Federal grants awarded for Route 66 tourism
Blue highways turning green
Time magazine takes a look at the idea of having "green" highways in America -- historic roads that would cater to electric vehicles, cyclists and even runners. The article mentions the Mother Road in a paragraph: If other, more famous heritage routes are any indication, a green-corridor network just might work. Route 66, the classic … Continue reading Blue highways turning green
The end and the beginning
I found this item in the Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph in the How Time Flies section: 25 years ago Oct. 8, 1984: Route 66 is now officially gone. A six mile stretch of Interstate 40 replaced the last of the "Mother Road" near Wilcox, Arizona. I-55 replaced Route 66 in Illinois. Along the Chicago-Los Angeles route, … Continue reading The end and the beginning
Driving Route 66 to save time
If you're traveling through central Missouri near the Interstate 44 corridor from Thursday through Thanksgiving, it may be advisable to take old Route 66 in the Rolla and Doolittle area. The Rolla Daily News reports that the transportation department is adding lane restrictions to that interstate and that delays could be 45 minutes to an … Continue reading Driving Route 66 to save time
National Park Service launches Route 66 site
The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program is already under the auspices of the National Park Service. But the NPS recently launched a Route 66 "Discover Our Shared Heritage" travel itinerary site that should prove useful to novice travelers and be informative to researchers. Funded in part by American Express and the World Monuments Fund, the … Continue reading National Park Service launches Route 66 site
Freeway project may improve Route 66 access
Improvements to Interstate 215 in San Bernardino, Calif., may ease travelers' access to Mount Vernon Avenue, an old alignment of Route 66, reports the San Bernardino County Sun. The improvements include several new exit ramps off the freeway by 2013 for Second, Third and Fifth streets as well as Base Line. Currently, drivers sometimes have … Continue reading Freeway project may improve Route 66 access
Route 66 documentary in the works
California-based Waterline Entertainment is producing a historical documentary about Route 66 that is tentatively slated to be released sometime in 2011. Geoff Foley, a writer and producer at Waterline, and I recently made connections through my Twitter account. He said the working title of the film is "Route 66: America's Main Street." His partner on … Continue reading Route 66 documentary in the works
Free road or toll road?
KOTV in Tulsa and KWTV in Oklahoma City conducted an interesting experiment. With the toll roads in Oklahoma costing an average of 16 percent more in recent weeks (via a Toll Authority price hike), reporters from those TV stations decided to drive to each other's city -- one on the toll road, the other on … Continue reading Free road or toll road?