U.S. Route 66

U.S. Route 66 ran from Chicago to Santa Monica and was decommissioned in 1985. It remains a symbol of historic American travel.

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U.S. Route 66, running from Chicago to Santa Monica, was one of America’s most famous highways. It served as a major route across the country before being officially decommissioned in 1985.

Over the years, U.S. Route 66 earned several nicknames. Soon after its commissioning, it was called “The Great Diagonal Way” for its northeast-to-southwest course from Chicago to Oklahoma City. The U.S. Highway 66 Association later promoted it as “The Main Street of America,” a title it popularized despite competing claims from supporters of U.S. Route 40. In John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, the highway was dubbed “The Mother Road,” a name that remains its most recognized. ² In 1952, the association unofficially named it “The Will Rogers Highway,” though a sign with that title appeared in the 1940 John Ford film adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath. A plaque dedicating the highway to Rogers still stands in Santa Monica, California, and another, placed initially at the Kansas–Missouri state line, was relocated to Galena, Kansas, in 2001. ³

History

Pre-Designation

In 1857, President James Buchanan tasked Lieutenant Edward Fitzgerald Beale—then serving with the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers—to survey and construct a federally funded wagon road along the 35th Parallel from Fort Defiance, Arizona, heading west through northern Arizona and continuing toward the Colorado River and southern California. ¹ His secondary mission was to evaluate camels as pack animals in the southwestern desert. Beale’s route, later known as Beale’s Wagon Road, became a precursor to U.S. Route 66 and eventually Interstate 40. ⁴

In 1853–54, Amiel Weeks Whipple conducted the initial surveys of the 35th Parallel route for a proposed transcontinental railroad. ¹ Beale’s wagon road generally followed that earlier survey and earned the nickname “Beale Camel Trail.”

Auto Trails and Early Road Development

Private groups marked auto trails before states adopted a nationwide numbered highway system. The corridor that later became the U.S. Route 66 was served by three major trails:

• The Lone Star Route ran from Chicago through St. Louis to Cameron, Louisiana.
• The National Old Trails Road, a transcontinental route from St. Louis to Los Angeles. U.S. Route 66 adopted this trail only from New Mexico westward. Before New Mexico, it followed a principal route of the Ozark Trails system, which joined the National Old Trails Road just south of Las Vegas, New Mexico. ⁵
• A shorter connection between Oklahoma City and Amarillo was gained by following the Postal Highway before rejoining the National Old Trails Road. ⁶

Federal Legislation and Route Establishment

Public highway legislation appeared in 1916 and was revised in 1921, but a national highway construction program only took shape after a more comprehensive act was passed in 1925. Entrepreneurs Cyrus Avery (Tulsa, Oklahoma) and John Woodruff (Springfield, Missouri) advocated for a road linking Chicago and Los Angeles. They successfully lobbied the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) to include this in the 1925 federal plans. ⁷

Designation

On April 30, 1926, in Springfield, Missouri, the Chicago–Los Angeles route was officially designated U.S. Route 66. ⁷ Springfield commemorates this in Park Central Square, and remnants of the original road remain visible along Kearney, Glenstone, College, and St. Louis streets—extending to Route 266 toward Halltown. ^{8 9}

Avery had proposed the number 60, but Kentucky delegates insisted that U.S. Route 60 serve a route from Virginia Beach to Springfield, Missouri. ^{10 11} After debate and counterproposals, the Chicago–Los Angeles corridor was reserved as U.S. Route 62. ¹² Avery and engineer John Page selected “66” as an unassigned, memorable number, despite the route lying north of U.S. Route 60. ¹¹

Promotion and Publicity

Avery continued his role by convening the U.S. Highway 66 Association in 1927 to promote paving and travel along the route. John T. Woodruff of Springfield was elected the association’s first president.

In 1928, the association organized the “Bunion Derby,” a footrace from Los Angeles to New York City that followed U.S. 66 from Los Angeles to Chicago. ¹³ Dignitaries such as Will Rogers greeted participants; the race concluded at Madison Square Garden, where Cherokee runner Andy Hartley Payne won the $25,000 prize.

On July 16, 1932, the association placed its first advertisement in the Saturday Evening Post, urging Americans to take Route 66 to the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The ad generated hundreds of inquiries at the association’s Oklahoma office. The organization continued to advocate for businesses along the highway until it disbanded in 1976. ¹⁴

Traffic, Dust Bowl, and Paving

U.S. Route 66’s flat terrain made it an appealing route for truck traffic. During the 1930s Dust Bowl, displaced farming families—pejoratively known as “Okies” or “Arkies”—traveled west on U.S. Route 66 toward California. The highway became a lifeline for depressed rural communities, giving rise to service stations, diners, and motor courts catering to travelers. ¹⁵

Originally, much of the highway was gravel or dirt. Through concerted efforts by the U.S. Highway 66 Association, U.S. Route 66 became the first fully paved U.S. highway by 1938. Hazardous sections, dubbed “Bloody 66,” were realigned to improve safety. The particularly treacherous stretch through the Black Mountains near Oatman, Arizona—with steep hairpin turns—remained part of U.S. Route 66 until 1953; today it is preserved as the Oatman Highway. ¹⁵

World War II spurred migration westward for war-related work, and U.S. 66—already paved—became a crucial military transport corridor. Near Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, portions of the highway were upgraded to divided-highway standards for military use.

In the 1950s, U.S. 66 became a vacation route to Los Angeles, passing iconic landscapes such as the Painted Desert, the Grand Canyon, and Meteor Crater. The rise in tourism led to a boom in roadside attractions: teepee motels, frozen-custard stands, curio shops, and reptile farms. Meramec Caverns near St. Louis billed itself as the “Jesse James hideout,” and the Big Texan in Amarillo offered a free 72-ounce steak for diners who could finish it in an hour. U.S. Route 66 also saw the beginnings of the fast-food industry: the first drive-through restaurant, Red’s Giant Hamburg in Springfield, Missouri, and the first McDonald’s in San Bernardino, California, both opened along the route. These developments helped solidify Route 66’s cultural symbolism as the “Mother Road” of American car culture. ^{15 16}

Changes

U.S. Route 66 underwent numerous realignments during its existence as engineers sought to improve travel efficiency, bypass congested areas, and adapt to evolving highway standards.

In 1930, the route between Springfield and East St. Louis, Illinois, was shifted eastward to a corridor that closely matches present-day Interstate 55. The former alignment was redesignated as Temporary 66 and is now Illinois Route 4. ¹⁷

Between downtown St. Louis and Gray Summit, Missouri, the original highway followed Market Street and Manchester Road—now State Route 100. In 1932, it was moved to Watson Road, the present State Route 366. At the time, this alignment was still incomplete and was considered a temporary measure. ¹⁷

In Oklahoma, the early route west of El Reno detoured north through Calumet, then west to Geary, crossing the South Canadian River on a suspension toll bridge into Bridgeport. A direct cutoff opened in 1933, bypassing Calumet and Geary entirely. This new segment featured a 38-span steel pony truss bridge over the river. ¹⁷

In New Mexico, the original alignment from west of Santa Rosa to north of Los Lunas turned north along much of today’s U.S. Route 84 toward Las Vegas, then followed what is now Interstate 25 through Santa Fe and Albuquerque before heading northwest along New Mexico State Road 6 near Laguna. In 1937, a more direct route from west of Santa Rosa through Moriarty and Albuquerque to Laguna was completed, reducing travel time by up to four hours. Local legend attributes this rerouting to Democratic Governor Arthur T. Hannett as a political maneuver against the Republican-controlled Santa Fe Ring. ¹⁸

In 1936, U.S. 66 was extended from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica, terminating at the intersection of Olympic and Lincoln Boulevards. ¹⁷ Four years later, in 1940, the Arroyo Seco Parkway—later renamed the Pasadena Freeway—was incorporated into the route, marking the first freeway segment in Los Angeles.

In 1953, a new alignment between Kingman, Arizona, and Needles, California, bypassed the steep, winding Oatman Highway through the Black Mountains. The reroute diverted traffic away from Oatman, leading to its near-abandonment by the 1960s. ¹⁷

From the 1950s onward, the development of the Interstate Highway System steadily drew traffic away from U.S. 66. In many cases, the designation was shifted onto new freeway alignments shortly after completion, as happened east of St. Louis. Restrictions from the 1965 Highway Beautification Act, which limited billboard placement along Interstate corridors, further reduced the visibility of businesses on bypassed sections. Combined, these factors contributed to the decline of many establishments along the old route. ¹⁹

To ease urban congestion, bypasses and beltlines were constructed around several major cities. Notable examples included Springfield, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; Rolla, Missouri; Springfield, Missouri; Joplin, Missouri; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Decline

The decline of U.S. Route 66 began in 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act, creating the Interstate Highway System. Eisenhower’s support was shaped by his 1919 cross-country Army convoy along the Lincoln Highway and his later observations of Germany’s Autobahn system, which he considered essential for national defense. ²⁰

Over its nearly sixty years, U.S. Route 66 saw continual change. Advances in highway engineering brought straighter, faster alignments, resulting in both major and minor reroutes. ²⁰ After World War II, Illinois widened nearly the entire corridor from Chicago to the Mississippi River near St. Louis to four lanes, adding bypasses around most towns. Missouri followed in the early to mid-1950s, with many sections later upgraded to freeways. A surviving example of these improvements is Veterans Parkway in Bloomington, Illinois—now Interstate 55 Business—which features a wide curve engineered for traffic speeds of up to 100 mph, reflecting efforts to create a military-ready, high-speed roadway.

The first major bypass came in 1953 with Oklahoma’s Turner Turnpike between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, an 88-mile toll road that paralleled U.S. Route 66 and bypassed all intermediate towns. The Will Rogers Turnpike opened in 1957, linking Tulsa to the Missouri state line near Joplin and bypassing northeastern Oklahoma towns and the Kansas segment. Both turnpikes were later incorporated into Interstate 44, as was a U.S. Route 66 bypass in Tulsa connecting the two.

In many places—especially Illinois—the new Interstates closely paralleled the original route and sometimes incorporated existing U.S. 66 pavement. A common construction method was to build new lanes for one direction, divert traffic onto them, then build the opposite lanes—eventually converting the old pavement to frontage roads. Western Oklahoma used this approach when widening the Sayre–Erick segment to four lanes in 1957–58, keeping the original pavement for westbound travel and adding new eastbound lanes. Interstate 40 bypassed this stretch in 1975. Similar upgrades took place between Canute and Elk City in 1959 and Hydro to Weatherford in 1960, with an additional westbound lane added in 1966 to meet interstate standards.

In New Mexico, rural Interstate 40 segments were generally built before urban bypasses, which met resistance from business owners and civic leaders. In 1963, the state legislature briefly banned bypasses where local governments opposed them, but federal pressure and the threat of withheld funds led to repeal by 1965. Tucumcari and San Jon were the first towns to negotiate bypass locations close to their business districts in 1964. Other towns—Santa Rosa, Moriarty, Grants, and Gallup—followed, most not bypassed until the 1970s. By the late 1960s, most of rural U.S. Route 66 in New Mexico had been replaced by Interstate 40, except for a 40-mile stretch from Glenrio to Tucumcari. This two-lane section, nicknamed “Slaughter Lane” in 1968–69 due to high accident rates, was finally bypassed after a routing compromise in 1969. Interstate 40 opened from Glenrio to east San Jon in 1976, reaching Tucumcari by 1981.

In Texas, lawsuits slowed construction of bypasses. The U.S. Highway 66 Association championed local businesses, opposing access-controlled interstates that restricted direct roadside entry. Plans to allow national chains inside interstate medians were blocked mainly by litigation, except on toll roads.

In Missouri, concerns over losing the U.S. Route 66 designation led some communities to threaten lawsuits, and the state requested “Interstate 66” for the St. Louis–Oklahoma City segment—a request that was denied.

Arizona’s last segment of U.S. Route 66, between Ash Fork and Kingman, was decommissioned in 1984 following the completion of Interstate 40 north of Williams. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) officially decertified the route in 1985.

No single interstate replaced U.S. Route 66. Instead, its corridor is now served by:

• Interstate 55: Chicago to St. Louis
• Interstate 44: St. Louis to Oklahoma City
• Interstate 40: Oklahoma City to Barstow
• Interstate 15: Barstow to San Bernardino
• California State Route 66, Interstate 210, State Route 2, and Interstate 10: San Bernardino through Los Angeles to Santa Monica

After Decommissioning

After U.S. Route 66 was decommissioned, its segments were managed in various ways. In many urban areas, portions of the route became interstate business loops. Other stretches were redesignated as state or local roads, converted to private drives, or abandoned entirely. While driving the highway continuously from Chicago to Los Angeles was impossible, much of the original alignment and its alternates remained passable. Some sections retained the historic 9-foot-wide design, ²¹ with a single paved lane, concrete curbs marking the edges, and gravel shoulders for passing.

Several states preserved the “66” designation on parts of the highway as state routes. In Missouri, Routes 366, 266, and 66 followed original sections of the road. Oklahoma’s State Route 66 functioned as a free alternative to nearby turnpikes. In and around Flagstaff, Arizona, “Historic Route 66” remained in use, while a long segment from Seligman to Kingman via Peach Springs was incorporated into State Route 66. In the Los Angeles area, Foothill Boulevard between San Bernardino and La Verne retained the State Route 66 designation. Numerous county roads and city streets along the former route also continued to carry the “66” number.

Revival

The first Route 66 associations were formed in Arizona in 1987, followed by Missouri and Illinois in 1989. In 1990, Missouri designated its portion of the highway as a “State Historic Route” and erected the first “Historic Route 66” marker in Springfield. Similar signs later appeared along the 2,400-mile route, although frequent theft of metal markers led some communities to stencil the Route 66 shield directly onto the pavement. Segments of the road were listed on the National Register of Historic Places or designated as National Scenic Byways. Several cities renamed streets to “Route 66,” and events such as Springfield, Illinois’s annual Mother Road Festival celebrated its legacy.

Preservation gained broader support in 1999, when President Bill Clinton signed the National Route 66 Preservation Bill, authorizing $10 million in grants. In 2008, the World Monuments Fund placed Route 66 on its watch list due to threats from development and deterioration. The National Park Service later developed a detailed travel itinerary featuring over 100 historic sites.

Efforts to recommission Route 66 as a U.S. Highway generated debate over the potential impact on its historic character. In 2018, AASHTO designated the first U.S. Bicycle Route 66 segments in Kansas and Missouri.

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In Popular Culture

U.S. Route 66 became a fixture in American popular culture, celebrated through music, television, and literature. Bobby Troup wrote “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” popularized by Nat King Cole with the King Cole Trio and later covered by artists including Chuck Berry, Glenn Frey, The Manhattan Transfer, John Mayer, Brian Setzer, and the Rolling Stones in their debut album. ²² The highway lent its name to the Route 66 television series in the 1960s, which featured a popular theme song composed and arranged by Nelson Riddle. John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, adapted to film in 1940, portrayed the Joad family traveling west along Route 66 after losing their Oklahoma farm. ²³

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Gallery

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Sources

1. Thrapp, Dan L. Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography: A–F. University of Nebraska Press, 1991, p. 76.
2. McClure, Rosemary. “Get Your Kicks on Route 66—and 499 Other Great Highways.” Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov. 2010.
3. Stokes, Keith. “Historic Route 66: Galena, Kansas.” KansasTravel.org.
4. Weiser, Kathy. “Beale’s Wagon Road from New Mexico to California.” Legends of America, 2014.
5. “Drive the Old Spanish Trails.” Old Spanish Trail Association.
6. “Auto Road Atlas.” Rand McNally, 1926.
7. Tremeear, Janice. Illinois’ Haunted Route 66. History Press, 2013, p. 10.
8. “Route 66 Birthplace Festival Set for Springfield, Missouri.” Hemmings Motor News.
9. “Then, Now and In Between.” Springfield, Missouri, Convention & Visitors Bureau.
10. “Exactly Where Is Route 66.” Route 66 Chamber of Commerce.
11. Kelly, Susan Croce. Father of Route 66: The Story of Cy Avery. University of Oklahoma Press, 2014, pp. 159, 170.
12. Weingroff, Richard F. “From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System.” Highway History, Federal Highway Administration, 7 Apr. 2011.
13. “The Great American Foot Race.” BIG Productions, 2002.
14. Dedek, Peter B. Hip to the Trip: A Cultural History of Route 66. University of New Mexico Press, 2007, p. 35.
15. “Route 66 History.” Route 66 World.
16. Wallis, Michael. Route 66: The Mother Road. St. Martin’s, New York, pp. 90–92.
17. “Route 66.” National Park Service.
18. “Santa Fe, Pre 1938 Rt. 66 Alignment.” Shadows of Old Route 66.
19. “U.S. Route 66 in Arizona Multiple Property Submission.” National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, 5 Apr. 1989, pp. 25–26.
20. Petroski, Henry. “On the Road.” American Scientist, vol. 94, no. 5, 2006, pp. 396–399.
21. “Route 66 Sidewalk Highway.” Atlas Obscura.
22. Snyder, Tom. Welcome to the Old Road. St. Martin’s Press, 2000, p. xii.
23. McGreal, Chris. “The Grapes of Wrath Revisited: Same Road, Same Grim Story, Same Sense of Optimism.” The Guardian, 27 Aug. 2009, London.