General

Will Rogers Highway colloquially known as the "Main Street of America" or the "Mother Road", U.S. Highway 66 was established on November 11, 1926. The famous road originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, before ending at Los Angeles, encompassing a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km).

Route 66 became part of popular culture by both a hit song and a television show in the 1950s and 1960s and recently Pixar produced the animated film Cars, referring to Route 66.

In the 30s, the highway was an important route for the migrants who went west, and supported the economy of the local communities through which it passed, as the popularity of the highway grew and local businesses become prosperous. Later, the same people also fought to keep the highway alive.

After being decided that the route was no longer relevant, it was replaced by the Interstate Highway System and was officially removed from the United States Highway System on June 27 1985. In southern California some portions of the road have been re-designated "State Route 66", and others bear "Historic Route 66" signs and relevant historic information.