Other designations and nicknames include the Will Rogers Highway and the Main Street of America (the latter nickname shared with U.S. In John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939), the highway symbolizes escape, loss, and the hope of a new beginning Steinbeck dubbed it the Mother Road. It was also featured in the Disney/ Pixar animated feature film franchise Cars. It was recognized in popular culture by both the 1946 hit song ' (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66' and the Route 66 television series, which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the United States, ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before terminating in Santa Monica in Los Angeles County, California, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km).
It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. Highway 66 ( US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. November 26, 1926 ( ) –June 26, 1985 ( ) Ĭalifornia, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois Route 66 in red, earlier alignments in pink
