How America Replaced Route 66

In October 1984, Interstate 40 opened around Williams, Arizona, replacing the final outdated section of Route 66 as a national through route. This documentary explains how Route 66 was replaced section by section, why controlled-access highways moved traffic differently, and how bypasses changed travel, freight, towns, roadside businesses, and preservation across the United States. It is one story in a channel covering the full span of American history. The Long American History uses archival records, maps, original diagrams, and source-led commentary. Selected official sources are listed below. Full source and asset records are retained in the production archive. Chapters: 00:00 The last bypass 01:27 Before Route 66 03:02 A highway becomes an economy 04:52 Migration and the Mother Road 06:40 Route 66 at war 08:31 Roadside freedom was not equal 09:49 The Interstate before 1956 11:47 A different kind of road 13:57 What bypasses changed 15:47 A route disappears 17:56 What the two roads built Selected sources: National Park Service, Route 66: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/travelro... National Park Service, Before 1926: https://www.nps.gov/articles/before-1... National Park Service, Route 66: 1926-1945: https://www.nps.gov/articles/route-66... National Park Service, Demise and Resurgence: https://www.nps.gov/articles/demise-a... Federal Highway Administration, Interstate 50th Anniversary: https://highways.dot.gov/highway-hist... Federal Highway Administration, The Greatest Decade: https://highways.dot.gov/highway-hist... Federal Highway Administration, Interstate FAQs: https://highways.dot.gov/highway-hist... National Archives, Ike's Interstates at 50: https://www.archives.gov/publications... Eisenhower Presidential Library, Interstate documents: https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/res... National Park Service, Threatt Filling Station: https://www.nps.gov/places/threatt-fi... New York Public Library, Green Books project: https://github.com/NYPL-publicdomain/... Library of Congress, Depression refugee family: https://www.loc.gov/item/2017763221/