26 November: Route 66

on 26 November 1926 US Route 66, one of the most famous roads in America, was established. Here are ten facts about Route 66.

1. It doesn't officially exist anymore. It was officially removed from the United States Highway System on June 27, 1985 and has been replaced by the Interstate highway system.
2. That said, parts of the original road have been preserved as a National Scenic Byway of the name "Historic Route 66", while some sections have become State Route 66 in the states it passed through - often a route into the towns the Interstate bypassed. Other parts of it were abandoned completely or became private roads, meaning it is no longer possible to drive all the way along the original road uninterrupted.
3. Route 66 was 2,451 mi (3,945 km) long and connected Chicago and Los Angeles. The western terminus was at the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica, California. The eastern Terminus was at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago.
4. It passed through the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. Well-known cities on the route include Santa Monica, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, St. Louis and Chicago.
5. Despite being established in 1926, it wasn't completely paved until 1938. This wasn't unusual for American roads at that time - there were portions of all of them which were gravel or graded dirt. There was a campaign group called the U.S. Highway 66 Association, based in Tulsa, which promoted end to end paving. Its publicity events included the "Bunion Derby," a footrace from Los Angeles to New York City in 1928, The Los Angeles to Chicago section was naturally on Route 66. Their efforts paid off in 1938 when 66 became the first highway to be completely paved.
6. It was almost named Route 60. However, there was a lot of controversy about this as Kentucky wanted to use the number for another road. 62 was briefly considered, but in the end, 66 was chosen because it would be easy to remember and easy to say. The planners and engineers also knew that 66 was a master number in numerology representing pleasure and success.
7. The route was well used, partly because much of it was flat, so it was good for trucks. It was also the road taken by farming families escaping the "dust bowl" in the 1930s and migrating to more prosperous and fertile lands in California. Towns along the route prospered despite the depression thanks to all this traffic. Setting up family businesses like service stations, restaurants and the like for the passing trade was lucrative for many.
8. Although most of it was flat there were some dangerous sections - enough for parts of it to be nicknamed "Bloody 66". Over time, the road was realigned to cut out most of the dangerous bends, but there was little that could be done to the section through the Black Mountains outside Oatman, Arizona, which was steep with hairpin bends. This remained part of the route until 1953 and is still used today as the Oatman Highway. In the early days, some travellers were so nervous about this stretch of the route that they would hire local people to navigate it for them.
9. The song, (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 was written in 1946 by Bobby Troup. He and his wife had packed up to move to California where Bobby wanted to work as a songwriter in Hollywood. The idea for the song came to him during the drive, which took in Highway 40 as well as 66. His original idea was to write a song about Highway 40, but his wife came up with the Get your Kicks on Route 66 idea and they spent the ten day journey writing the song. It has been recorded by many artists, including Bing Crosby, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, Them, Asleep at the Wheel, and Depeche Mode.
10. While the UK doesn't have such iconic roads, there have been a couple of attempts to adapt the song for the UK. Cantabile - The London Quartet perform an Anglicised version of the song, about the A66 in the north of England; and Billy Bragg recorded another version called A13 (Trunk Road to the Sea), replacing the US cities with towns in Essex and using the line "Go motoring, on the A-thirteen".

New!

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Part One of The Raiders Trilogy.

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