State Route 66

California State Route 66

California 66 is a remnant section of Historic U.S. 66 (the Mother Road; Will Rogers Highway) that remains within the state route system between La Verne and San Bernardino. A portion of this route is still state maintained, even though portions of the route are being remanded to local control. The majority of the east-west route follows Foothill Boulevard between California 210 in San Dimas and Claremont and Interstate 215 in San Bernardino. Some portions of this corridor are maintained by the state, while others are maintained by cities along the route. California 66 matches the original routing of Historic U.S. 66 for its entire length.

U.S. 66 is perhaps the most famous highway in the United States. Traversing eight states on its trip from Santa Monica to Chicago (through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois), Historic U.S. 66 passes through many towns that time forgot. Relegated to business loop or frontage road status for much of its route nationally, the last segment of U.S. 66 was bypassed by freeway in 1985 in Arizona. The entire route was decommissioned shortly thereafter, and now U.S. 66 is signed as an historic route. Signs are erected all along the various routings of U.S. 66 in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and Inland Empire, and U.S. 66 is well-signed on its extant sections between Cajon Pass, Barstow, and Needles.

Other decommissioned segments of U.S. 66 are much more likely to be signed as either Historic U.S. 66 (brown shields) or even as U.S. 66, even though U.S. 66 is long since decommissioned.

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Page Updated Sunday May 16, 2010.