United States Highway 66 (Route 66)
Route 66 started in the 1920s, but would not reach its peak until the 1940s. In the early 1940s, Route 66 was one of the few U.S. highways paved across its entire length, and it served as one of the main routes for people traveling from east to west. Route 66 redefined the development and environment of every town it passed through. Businesses offering food, lodging, and gas gravitated from the center of town to the place where the highway entered the town in the east. After the passage of the National Highway Act in 1944, newer highways began to replace Route 66, and in 1984 the road was decommissioned (National Register of Historic Places, 1989). Parts of the original Route 66 still exist while others were incorporated into Interstate 40.
StateArizonaCountryUnited StatesGeographic Coordinates[1] Feature ClassRoad