WHAT HAD ONCE BEEN A PRIMARY ARTERY BECAME A CULTURAL ROUTE. something authentic in an increasingly standardized world. Preservation groups formed. Towns restored landmarks.“ Historic Route 66” signage began appearing along surviving stretches.
Harley-Davidson motorcycles were common along Route 66 starting in the 1920s. Photo courtesy of the Museum of the Western Prairie & Oklahoma Historical Society.
THE ROAD LEFT BEHIND
By the late 1950s, the very success of America’ s road system began to work against Route 66. The construction of the Interstate Highway System prioritized speed, efficiency, and direct routes. New highways bypassed the small towns that Route 66 had once sustained. Traffic dwindled. Businesses closed. Entire communities felt the shift almost overnight.
Segments of the original road were absorbed, rerouted, or simply abandoned. By 1985, Route 66 was officially decommissioned.
But unlike many roads that fade quietly into history, Route 66 refused to disappear. What remained were fragments – cracked pavement, aging motels, rusted signs – but also memories. And those memories proved powerful enough to spark something new.
REVIVAL AND REDISCOVERY
In the decades following its decommissioning, Route 66 experienced an unexpected revival.
Travelers, especially motorcyclists, began seeking out the original alignments, drawn by a desire to experience
WHAT HAD ONCE BEEN A PRIMARY ARTERY BECAME A CULTURAL ROUTE. something authentic in an increasingly standardized world. Preservation groups formed. Towns restored landmarks.“ Historic Route 66” signage began appearing along surviving stretches.
What had once been a primary artery became a cultural route. Today, riders can trace much of the original path, weaving between modern highways and older segments that reveal the road’ s layered history. In states like Missouri, long stretches remain rideable, offering a direct connection to the past.
Stops like Tucumcari, New Mexico, with its neon sign motels and preserved roadside character, or Springfield, Illinois, recognized as the birthplace of Route 66, serve as living reminders of the road’ s enduring significance.
Even popular culture has played a role in keeping the road alive. Films, music, and literature have continued to romanticize Route 66, introducing it to new generations who never experienced its original era.
RIDING ROUTE 66 TODAY
Riding Route 66 now is a different experience than it once was, but in many ways it’ s richer.
On Route 66, you’ re not just traveling across distance; you’ re moving through time. One moment you’ re on a quiet two-lane road lined with aging motels, and the next you’ re navigating a modern city street that carried the same designation decades ago.
Fragments of the past appear unexpectedly, like a surviving brick road where the texture under your tires echoes the early days of motoring. Or a roadside diner that has served travelers for generations, unchanged in spirit if not in detail.
There’ s no single“ correct” way to ride Route 66. Some follow it end to end – usually east to west. Others explore it
The highway was redirected many times throughout its 59 years.
22 / AUGUST 2026 / RIDERMAGAZINE. COM