About 396 out of the total 2,400 miles of Route 66 through eight states passed through Oklahoma. Designated as United States Highway 66 on November 11, 1926, the highway was routed what had previously been designated as State Highway No. 3 from Oklahoma City west to the Texas border. East of Oklahoma City, it was State Highway 7 northeast through Tulsa on into Kansas. Paving of Route 66 almost as soon as it was designated. By 1928, Route 66 was paved from east of Edmond, then south through Oklahoma City and west to Yukon. Pavement was under construction westward to El Reno. West of El Reno, the highway was dirt through Calumet to Geary. At Geary, the road was then graveled to the toll bridge over the South Canadian River into Bridgeport. From Bridgeport, Route 66 was again dirt on westward through Weatherford, Clinton, and Canute on to Elk City. From Elk City through Sayre and Erick onto the Texas border, the highway was under construction for pavement. East of Edmond, Route 66 was paved from the Lincoln/Creek county line east to Depew, Bristow through Tulsa to Claremore, and from Afton through Vinita and Miami to the Kansas border. Some stretches of highway in the Vinita-Miami area had only one-lane pavement.
By 1934, Route 66 was entirely paved from Oklahoma City westward to the Texas border and a new straighter section bypassing Calumet, Geary, and Bridgeport included a 3/4 mile-long bridge over the South Canadian River, cutting time and mileage west of OKC and eliminating the old toll bridge. In the eastern portion of the state, 66 was paved except for a small stretch from Vinita to SH 25. This last stretch was paved in 1937.
Then came World War II and rationing of gasoline, food, and other resources. New automobiles were replaced by tanks and ammo on the assembly lines. Wartime machinery and big trucks loaded the highways, which now had speed limits reduced to 35 miles per hour. Gasoline was rationed according to need with most American families getting only 2 to 3 gallons per week.
After the war ended, Americans came home in droves. Many moved westward to lead better lives by working in abundant jobs with adequate wages. New homes and automobiles were part and parcel of the American dream. Americans also took to the road to travel for vacations. Route 66 was reaching its prime between 1946 and 1956 as gas stations, motels, restaurants prospered from increasing travel.
This increasing travel, combined with the wear and tear resulting from the war machinery using the roads previously brought rapid deterioration to American highways. Oklahoma, which had virtually no highway improvements during the war, could not afford to rebuild its entire state highway system even with federal funds or higher gasoline taxes.
In 1947, Gov. Roy J. Turner devised a plan to build toll roads along the state's most heavily traveled routes, particularly Route 66 between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. In 1953, the Turner Turnpike was opened for traffic between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The 88-mile turnpike was a four-lane controlled access highway that bypassed each of the smaller cities between the state's two largest. In 1957, the Turner was joined by the Will Rogers Turnpike from Tulsa to the Missouri line southwest of Joplin, and a new U.S. 66 bypass route was completed in 1958 across the south and east sections of Tulsa that connected the two turnpikes.
Congress passed the National Interstate Highway Act in 1956. This legislation created the 42,000 Interstate Highway System of mutilane controlled-access highways to be completed in 1972. The Interstate highways bypassed traffic congestion in large cities and also wiped out the economic viability of smaller towns that were bypassed by the new routes asaccess was severely limited by few exits (or none at all) leading to services in these towns.
Gov. Raymond Gary (1955-59) emphasized four-laning of Route 66 in Western Oklahoma among his highest priorities during his election campaign in 1954 originally as a standard four-lane roadway with no bypasses. However the prospect of 90 percent federal funding for the new interstate roads as well as a plan by the feds to build an interstate west of OKC led Gary to push for bringing U.S. 66 up to interstate standards but placing the construction of bypasses around cities until the final stages and constructing four-lane city routes through each of the towns - a move that was approved by the feds in late 1956. By 1962, I-40 was completed from El Reno west to Sayre minus bypasses around cities and a four-lane U.S. 66 from Sayre west to the Texas border not up to interstate standards continued the remaining mileage.
Back to the east, the Turner and Will Rogers turnpikes as well as the 66 bypass at Tulsa had been completed and designated as Interstate 44, which continued through Missouri to St. Louis.
I-40 was completed across Oklahoma City in 1966 and 1967. In 1969, the interstate was completed westward to bypass Yukon and El Reno to the completed interstate just west of El Reno. Bypasses around western Oklahoma cities including Weatherford, Clinton, Canute, Elk City and Sayre were completed in 1970 and the final leg of I-40 from Sayre to the Texas border at Texola was opened to traffic in 1975 - bypassing the four-lane U.S. 66 route built in the 1950s as well as Erick and Texola.
I-40 continued to carry both its signage as well as U.S. 66 - the latter also continuing to be designated on the old city routes through each town. When U.S. 66 was decertified in 1985, the city routes were redesignated as Business Loop 40.
|
|
1960s postcard, Chateau Inn - Yukon
|
U.S. 66 alongside I-40 between Hydro and Weatherford, 1967
|
|
1955 Olds parked in front of Nu-Homa Motel, Okla. City
|
OHP trooper patroling Lincoln/66 bypass interchange, Okla. City
|
|
1930s postcard - Pop Hicks Restaurant, Clinton
|
Sands Motel, Okla. City 1960s
|
|
North Fork of Red River bridge washout - Sayre, 1951
|
Same bridge, today
|
|
|
1966 postcard - Holiday House Motel, Elk City
|
|
Four-lane U.S. 66 near Turner Turnpike gate, Tulsa - 1954
|
Other end of turnpike looking east under U.S. 66 overpass, OKC - 1954
|
|
New eastbound bridge under construction alongside existing bridge at Verdigris River - 1957
|
|
For more Route 66 photos in Oklahoma, check out the Links page for Oklahoma albums
Updated 8/31/02 |
|
