Significant alignment changes to Route 66

[usends]

What were the major alignment changes on US 66 over the years? 
Obviously there were dozens of minor intra-city alignment changes (especially in places like St. Louis and SoCal). 
But other than the 1937 New Mexico reroute, and the original alignment through Oatman and Peach Springs AZ, were there any other major changes to the alignment of Route 66?

[Max Rockatansky]

There was a major one that was finished by 1932 between Barstow and Needles when US 66 moved off the older NOTR alignment.  The crazy jumping around 66 did when the Figueroa Street Tunnels were being built were pretty significant also.  The terminus in downtown Los Angeles was probably the most notable part of the post 1933 Urban State Highway era leading up to the Arroyo Seco Parkway.  Obviously the end result was the terminus of US 66 being extended to Santa Monica. 

[usends]

There was a major one that was finished by 1932 between Barstow and Needles when US 66 moved off the older NOTR alignment.

You're referring to the original NOTR that went through Goffs and Bannock?

[Max Rockatansky]

There was a major one that was finished by 1932 between Barstow and Needles when US 66 moved off the older NOTR alignment.

You're referring to the original NOTR that went through Goffs and Bannock?

Yes, but also westward to Barstow.  The NOTR alignment was substantially different than how 66 ended up when the State was built up Legislative Route 58. Places like Fenner, Amboy and Ludlow had major alignment differences.  The NOTR versus what became the first realignment of US 66 is pretty well track by Mike Bloutinghouse on the NOTR.  Arizona has some similar variances with the older NOTR alignments on the Colorado Plateau that were also part of early 66.  Granted I'm not talking huge regional shifts like Oatman and La Bajada Hill hit the realignments are nothing that most casual US 66 fans would normally pick up on. 

[Max Rockatansky]

To expound, the difference between the NOTR East of Barstow to the State Line was completely different from what the State built up with Legislative Route 58.  CAhighways more or less spells out the Legislative history of LRN 58 as follows:

The route that became LRN 58 was first defined in the 1919 Third Bond Act as the route from Mojave to Needles via Barstow. In 1925, Chapter 279 authorized the highway commission "...to acquire necessary rights of way and to construct and maintain a highway, which shall constitute and be a state highway, extending from Needles or from a point to be selected by the California Highway Commission upon the route of the state highway extending from San Bernardino to Needles in the county of San Bernardino to a point to be selected by the California Highway Commission and the state of Arizona opposite the town of Topock, Arizona or at such other point thereon as may be selected by said California Highway Commission..."

"In 1931, Chapter 82 authorized extension of the route from Bakersfield to Mojave, with the state taking jurisdiction over a former county route. In 1933, the route was extended further, from [LRN 2] near Santa Margarita to [LRN 4] near Bakersfield. By 1935, the route was codified in the highway code as follows:

[LRN 2] near Santa Margarita to the Arizona State Line near Topock Arizona via Bakersfield, Mojave, Barstow, and Needles"

The most well known part of the build up of LRN 58 East of Barstow was the bypass of Goffs.  What is more difficult to discern from State Wide Maps is that the NOTR essentially was a ATSF frontage road.  The new alignment of US 66/LRN 58 essentially was entirely a brand new highway.  Another big part of the shift was US 66 being routed over Cadiz Summit instead of the siding of Cadiz along the ATSF tracks.  Communities like; Danby, Chambless, and Amboy all moved to the new highway from their previous rail siding locations.  In the case of Danby the move was a considerable distance north.  Cadiz Summit essentially was a rebirth of the siding community of Cadiz. 

[Finrod]

Looking around, I found the site historic66.com which has the alignment laid out turn by turn, including some sections of "sidewalk highway" in northeast Oklahoma where there's a more modern alternate.  Don't know if that will help any, but it's an interesting site nonetheless.

[Brian556]

I am not an expert on this off hand, but what about New Mexico? There was a very significant change in routing there, maybe the most significant on the entire route.

[Max Rockatansky]

I am not an expert on this off hand, but what about New Mexico? There was a very significant change in routing there, maybe the most significant on the entire route.

The three big alignment changes in my view with 66 are:

-  The extension time Santa Monica
-  The shift out of Santa Fe and La Bajada Hill
-  Bypassing Oatman

Beyond those you're looking at mostly realignments that would be difficult to discern unless you had some serious regional expertise.  The examples I gave with the NOTR are similar to other early US Routes in pretty much every desert state. 

The problem with getting turn by turn directions with US 66 is how do you determine which alignment to use?  There are literally hundreds of realignments of US 66 from minor to massive.  Even most of the Interstate alignments in use now once also carried US 66.  Essentially US 66 is the American Highway that bridges the gap from cross country roads that would barely qualify as OHV trails today to the modern superhighways.  There is so much evolution that occurred with 66 that it would be almost impossible to chart every alignment much less make a map.  As much as I would love to see something like the Lincoln Highway Association's interactive map the scale of US 66 is probably too big for a small group to undertake. 

[usends]

I am not an expert on this off hand, but what about New Mexico? There was a very significant change in routing there, maybe the most significant on the entire route.

I agree, that's what I was referring to in the OP.

[NE2]

When Illinois deleted 66 in the mid-1970s, Missouri rerouted it east of Joplin to end at I-44 exit 15 rather than go northeast via Carthage. Had this happened before then, with 66 continuing east on I-44, it would have been a more significant change.

[-- US 175 --]

I would guess the most significant realignments in TX' portion of Route 66 would probably be when the government ordered the construction of the Amarillo Air Base right on top of the Route 66 alignment east of town.  A new replacement was built between Route 66's east-west alignment and US 60, which in effect made the US 60-US 66 overlap longer.  A short part between the new connection and the east side of the Air Base became an FM road afterward.

The only other Route 66 rerouting that might be significant was early on, when it went from going to Washburn then overlapped along US 370 (later part of US 287) to go into Amarillo, to going along the straighter east-west path through Conway on its way to intersecting with US 60 on the east side of Amarillo (the same routing partially obliterated by the Air Base construction later on).

[Route66Fan]

I think there also was an alignment shift (In the early 1960's.) between Holbrook, AZ, the Painted Desert & Navajo, AZ.

[usends]

I think there also was an alignment shift (In the early 1960's.) between Holbrook, AZ, the Painted Desert & Navajo, AZ.

That's right, I've actually been to the location in the National Park where the park road crosses the historic alignment.  There was a small interpretive site set up there.

[Max Rockatansky]

I think there also was an alignment shift (In the early 1960's.) between Holbrook, AZ, the Painted Desert & Navajo, AZ.

That's right, I've actually been to the location in the National Park where the park road crosses the historic alignment.  There was a small interpretive site set up there.

A good chunk of that road is accessible as Pinta Road East of Petrified Forest.  It's heavily eroded and mostly needs 4WD nowadays. 

[Revive 755]

Between Worden, IL (outer fringes of the St. Louis area), and Springfield, IL, US 66 used to be along today's IL 4 corridor before later being rerouted to a corridor near I-55.

[usends]

Between Worden, IL (outer fringes of the St. Louis area), and Springfield, IL, US 66 used to be along today's IL 4 corridor before later being rerouted to a corridor near I-55.

Interesting, I do see that on the 1927 atlas... and then it had already been moved by the time of the 1928 atlas.

[usends]

The reason I asked the original question is because I was wondering if the town of Adrian, Texas was really the midpoint of US 66, as is claimed.  And if so, when?  Prior to the NM reroute, or after?

I found that Adrian might have been close to the midpoint for a few years (prior to the NM reroute).  But the 1937 reroute shaved 100 miles off the mileage of US 66, so that shifted the location of the midpoint by 50 miles.  Therefore, after 1937, there were a few other towns located closer to the midpoint than Adrian.  Full article

[NE2]

Have you checked old AASHO logs for what the midpoint would have been according to them?

[usends]

Have you checked old AASHO logs for what the midpoint would have been according to them?

No, I haven't.  Might be interesting, but I'm actually not sure about the accuracy of those route logs.  From what I've seen, those point-to-point mileages were always rounded to an integer, which makes me a little suspect.