Route 66 in Arizona

National interest in Route 66 began to decline in the mid-50s.  Cars were bigger; and better, wider roads were needed.  Route 66 was narrow and treacherous in spots, and couldn’t accommodate the larger cars.  Also, because of the heavy military vehicles that used the road during the war, and the increase in vacation traffic following, the road was deteriorating.

In the mid 1950s, President Eisenhower convinced Congress to pass the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, providing the financial structure to build a national highway system similar to Germany’s Autobahn, which Eisenhower had seen during the war.

With the passage of this bill, construction began on better, wider, faster highways.  Instead of going through towns as Route 66 had done, these new highways bypassed towns, eliminating stop signs and traffic controls.  Towns that had once flourished along Route 66 now struggled to remain in existence.

Route 66 was replaced by a series of interstates.  In some cases, old Route 66 was used as part of the new roads.  In other instances, the new roads ran parallel to Route 66, and Route 66 was relegated to a frontage road.

The first bypass of Route 66 occurred in Oklahoma, between Oklahoma City and Tulsa in 1953 with the construction of the Turner Turnpike.  Williams, Arizona was the last town on Route 66 to be bypassed, by Interstate 40, in October of 1984.

The road was officially decommissioned as a highway in 1985, and all traces of Route 66 disappeared from maps.  Highway signs marking Route 66 as US Highway 66 were also removed.

Portions of Route 66 do still exist, and the eight states through which the historic highway passed are all working to preserve their piece of American history.

After the war, America was ready to get back on the road and do some traveling. Detroit, which had produced only military vehicles during the war, was manufacturing personal vehicles again, and consumers were buying the sleek new designs.

The baby boom created a need for the “family vacation”.  Disneyland, which opened in Los Angeles in 1955, became a popular destination for families, and what better way to get there than by Route 66?

While Disneyland may have been the destination, Route 66 also passed through or near other attractions such as Meramec Caverns near St. Louis, Missouri; and the Painted Desert & the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Also during this time, more motels, gift shops and tourist attractions sprung up all along Route 66.  Some of these are still operating today; some are no longer operating but the buildings and signage still exist; sadly, many have been torn down and are only memories.

It was during this post-war era, in 1946, that Bobby Troup, a musician and former member of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, wrote Get Your Kicks on Route 66, forever immortalizing the famed highway in song.

It was a good thing too, because the 1950s marked the beginning of the end for Route 66. 

Next up: The Interstate System and the Demise of Route 66

Several years after the end of the Great Depression, the United States found itself immersed in World War II.

Again, while travel was scarce on most of the US highways during the war, mostly due to tire and gasoline rationing, travel on Route 66 continued.  However, instead of families, this time it was primarily soldiers traveling Route 66.  Some civilians were migrating west to get jobs in industries that were supporting the war effort, but the majority of traffic along Route 66 during World War II was military.  Troops, supplies and equipment traversed the highway since it was still the only fully-paved east-west road in existence.

While businesses and establishments along Route 66 fared ok during this time, the road itself did not.  Because of the weight of the military equipment that was moved along Route 66, the road began to crumble.

However, interest in the route did not.

Next: Route 66 after the war and into the 1950s

Less than three years after US Highway 66 was commissioned, the United States economy began its downhill slide into the Great Depression.

While many businesses in the United States suffered because people weren’t traveling or spending money, businesses along Route 66 were still going strong.  Maybe not as strong as before, but they were surviving.

The reason for this was primarily because of a drought in the Midwest.  People were leaving the area and heading to California in search of better conditions and better opportunities.  Since Route 66 was the main road west, thousands of families traveled the highway to escape the dust storms that had befallen much of the Midwest.

John Steinbeck wrote of the struggles and hardships of the fictional Joad family on their way west from the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma to the fertile lands of California in his classic novel Grapes of Wrath.

So, while most of the US highways were sparsely traveled during the years of the Depression, travel along Route 66 remained constant with people seeking hope.

That is, until the United States entered World War II.  Then, Route 66 started serving a different purpose.

Next up:  Route 66 and World War II

In the early 1920’s, the federal government determined there was a need for a national highway system.  Up until then the roads that existed were primarily old rutted wagon trails, gravel and dirt roads, and military trails.

Cyrus Avery, an Oklahoma businessman and member of the American Association of Highway Development, was appointed to develop the highway system.  Avery began by looking at maps and connecting existing trails and roads.  By connecting three existing major roads – The Lone Star Route, The Ozarks Trail, and The National Old Trails Road – and filling in with a series of smaller trails and roads, US Highway 66 was born.

While most of the early highways created under the National Highway System were East-West or North-South routes, Highway 66 ran diagonally southwest from Chicago to Oklahoma City before heading west to California.  Even so, the new highway was considered an East-West route, and was therefore given an even number designation.  The North-South routes got odd number designations.  Avery wanted it to be Highway 60, but that designation was given to a road that led east, to Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Avery settled on the number 66 because he liked the way it sounded and thought people would remember the double digits.

The highway was commissioned on November 11, 1926 at US Highway 66. The term “Route 66” wouldn’t become commonplace until the 40s.

US Highway 66 traversed eight states – Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California – and crossed three time zones, covering 2,448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Shortly after Highway 66 was commissioned, the US Highway 66 Association was created.  The association had two purposes: to get people to use the highway, and to get the entire highway paved.  At the time it was commissioned, only 800 of the more that 2,000 miles were paved.  It wasn’t until 11 years later, in July of 1937 that paving on the entire road was completed.

To promote travel on the road, Avery and the Highway 66 Association decided to hold a foot race from Los Angeles to New York, using Highway 66 as the primary road for the race.  Nicknamed the Bunion Derby, 275 contestants lined up in Los Angeles in March of 1928 for the race.  Of the 275 people who stared in Los Angeles, only 55 finished in New York.  While the race itself was not as successful as was hoped, the towns located along the highway benefited because of the publicity; and travel along Route 66 increased.

With the increase in travel came the need for gas stations, restaurants and motels.  Mom & pop establishments started appearing up and down the highway.

Things seemed to be looking up for the towns along the highway. At least for a while.

Next up: Route 66 and The Depression

To get this blog started, I will be posting a series of articles on the history of Route 66 in general before focusing on the road’s roots in Arizona.  This series will have six parts:

The Birth of Route 66

Route 66 & The Depression

Route 66 & World War II

Route 66 After the War and Into the 50s

The Interstate System & The Demise of Route 66

Renewed Interest in Route 66

I hope you enjoy the trip!

Hello and welcome to my Arizona’s Route 66 blog.  My name is Beth and I will be your tour guide.

One of my life-long dreams has been to travel as much of Route 66 as I could.  Recently I fulfilled that dream and more.  My husband and I recently moved from the Midwest to Northwest Arizona.  In that move, we traveled along much of Route 66 through Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico before arriving in Arizona.  Not only did we see a lot of Route 66, but we now live about 1 mile from the heart of Arizona’s section of the Mother Road. 

In this blog I will be bringing my visitors with me as I become acquainted with the sites and sounds of the Arizona stretch of America’s highway.   I hope you will join me as I get my kicks on Route 66.