The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge carried Route 66 over the Mississippi River from Madison, Ill., to St. Louis for decades. Those structures you see in the river are water intake towers. And that roaring sound in the video is water rushing over the natural chain of rocks near those towers. The Old Chain of … Continue reading Sunset at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge
Category: Highways
Images from the McKinley Bridge dedication
Longtime roadie Kip Welborn of St. Louis went to Saturday's dedication ceremony of the rehabbed McKinley Bridge, which connects Venice, Ill., to St. Louis. It's open to pedestrian and bicycle traffic now, and vehicular traffic will be allowed by sometime in December. The McKinley Bridge was built in 1910, and carried Route 66 from 1926 … Continue reading Images from the McKinley Bridge dedication
McKinley Bridge reopens — to pedestrians
Illinois officials held a dedication ceremony Saturday for the rehabbed McKinley Bridge, but the historic Mississippi River span won't be ready for traffic until as late as mid-December, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The McKinley Bridge, which once carried an alignment of Route 66 from Venice, Ill., to St. Louis, was closed in 2001 because … Continue reading McKinley Bridge reopens — to pedestrians
Parking lot closed near Old Chain of Rocks Bridge
I was afraid this might happen, and it appears my fears were realized. The St. Clair County Journal in Illinois reports that the parking lot on the Missouri side of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was closed by Trailnet a few days ago. The pedestrian bridge, which once carried Route 66 over the Mississippi … Continue reading Parking lot closed near Old Chain of Rocks Bridge
Book review: “Greetings from the Lincoln Highway”
When best-selling author Michael Wallis and award-winning photographer Michael Williamson were doing field research for their book, "The Lincoln Highway," they used Brian Butko's 2005 volume, "Greetings from the Lincoln Highway" ($29.95, Stackpole Books, 288 pages), as one of their key references. Butko even embarked a bit of a mirror book tour when Wallis and … Continue reading Book review: “Greetings from the Lincoln Highway”
You’re invited
Today, I received a message in the mail from the Illinois Department of Transportation. Here's what it said: Governor Rod R. Blagojevich and the Illinois Department of Transportation in conjunction with the Great Rivers Greenway District Cordially invite you to the Dedication Ceremony for the McKinley Bridge and the opening of The Chamber of Commerce … Continue reading You’re invited
Lincoln Highway news site launched
This is a welcome addition. Route 66 has a news site (you're looking at it, obviously), and now the Lincoln Highway does, too. Brian Butko, author of "Lincoln Highway: America's First Coast to Coast Road," has launched LincolnHighwayNews.com in the past few days. In three days, he already has items about Niland's Cafe, new Lincoln … Continue reading Lincoln Highway news site launched
Mother Road display at rest area
The Funks Grove rest area on Interstate 55 in Illinois, near Bloomington, has a nice little Route 66 display area. Here's a video of what it looks like: The rest area was named the best in Illinois a year ago.
Route 66 bridge near Galena needs repairs
The Front Street Bridge, which carries an old alignment of Route 66 into downtown Galena, Kan., was recently downgraded in its load limit from 20 to 10 tons. I was told the weight limit on the bridge, which essentially is a railroad overpass, was dropped because of problems with one of the support pillars. Last … Continue reading Route 66 bridge near Galena needs repairs
A high-speed drive on Oatman Road
Relax, it's not a real-time video. YouTube poster SpeedyYellow has uploaded footage of a drive on Oatman Road, aka Route 66, just west of Kingman, Ariz., to the small town of Oatman in the Black Mountains. The footage runs at double speed "so you don't have to sit here all day," the poster writes. The … Continue reading A high-speed drive on Oatman Road