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Survival
of Route 66
Approximately 2,400 miles of Route
66 are still in existence. Even though many of the most memorable parts
of the Mother Road are gone, they have become still drivable highways
such as the I-55 and I-40. However, many of the still remaining portions
of Route 66 are faced with unfortunate problems.
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A view of Route 66 today. |
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Probably the most
important issue facing
66 is that it is outdated. Many portions of the road have been
forgotten and have since been overgrown by weeds. They have fallen into
disrepair and the money required to fix them is simply too great to be a
good investment. |
One of the ornate but weak and
narrow bridges found on the Mother Road. |
Some of the major
components of the
road that have fallen into disrepair are the bridges. Many were
ornate and somewhat differentiated from each other as well as from the modern freeway
bridges of
today. Many rely on archaic construction methods that have proven
unreliable for sustaining heavy weights. They are also very
narrow, so trying to get more than 2 cars across a bridge is tricky, to
say the least. |
However, there are several
associations devoted to saving the Mother Road. One is the National
Historic Route 66 Foundation, which has helped with the recognition of 66 as
a historic highway. You may now find "Historic US Route
66" signs on some portions of the remaining route.
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