Route 66 and its touristy roadside landmarks, both in their own ways emblems of a bygone era, could soon be getting preservation aid from the federal government if a recently introduced bill becomes law. Called the Route 66 Centennial Commission Act (introduced by Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois), H.R. 66 hopes to help celebrate the road’s 100th anniversary in 2026 by forming a commission tasked with creating a preservation plan for the road with interest in protecting the attractions alongside it while also promoting the route’s history.

The Mother Road, as it is often referred to as, was the first paved road completed under the federal highway system. The bill says Route 66 “was the symbol of opportunity to hundreds of thousands of people seeking escape from the Dust Bowl in the 1930s” and “was invaluable in transporting troops, equipment and supplies across the country to the West, where the government established multiple industries and Armed Forces bases during World War II.”

In 1985, Route 66 was decommissioned as a federal highway, but much of it remains drivable in some form; interest in the road and what it symbolizes has only grown in the intervening decades. Preservation through the National Parks Service began in 2001, with the agency providing cost-share grants, available to the eight states the road runs through. Since 2001, $5 million in public-private investment has been made to the road and its adjacent historical properties.

Currently, the bill is sitting with the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which will decide if the bill should go forward into the Legislature for consideration.

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