Route 66 Turns 100

- U.S. Highway 66 was formally established on November 11, 1926, though road signs were not erected until the following year and the entire 2,448-mile route was not fully paved until 1938. - Author John Steinbeck dubbed it "The Mother Road" in his novel *The Grapes of Wrath*, as it was the primary path for an estimated 210,000 people migrating west to escape the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. - The road's diagonal path was significant for the trucking industry, connecting rural communities to major cities and helping farmers transport goods. It also served as a key route for moving military equipment and personnel during World War II. - The beginning of its decline was President Dwight D. Eisenhower's signing of the Interstate Highway Act in 1956; inspired by Germany's Autobahn, the act led to the creation of highways that bypassed the towns Route 66 ran through. - After being incrementally replaced by five different interstates, the highway was officially decommissioned in 1985, with the final section having been bypassed by Interstate 40 in Williams, Arizona, in 1984. - In 1999, the federal government established the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, which provides grants to help preserve significant historic sites along the highway. There are also efforts to designate Route 66 as a National Historic Trail. - A 2011 economic impact study found that annual spending related to Route 66 tourism and preservation totaled $132 million, supporting thousands of jobs and generating tens of millions in tax revenue. - Centennial celebrations are planned across the eight states the route passes through, including car shows, festivals, and a national kick-off in Springfield, Missouri, where the "66" designation was first proposed in 1926.