Open road for Route 66 Commission

Centennial celebration set for 2026 as bill clears Congress, sent to Trump for signature

Bob Waldmire designed the map mural of the entire Route 66 course from Chicago to the Pacific Ocean found in Pontiac. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)

By Ted Cox

There’s nothing but open road ahead for the Route 66 Centennial Commission.

A bill to establish an organization to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the “Main Street of America” passed the U.S. House Tuesday and heads to the White House for the president’s signature. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin passed the bill through the Senate in August, and they cheered passage Tuesday, joined by U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville, a leading co-sponsor in the House.

“From Chicago to East St. Louis, Route 66 has played a tremendous role in Illinois’s history by helping promote travel, commerce, and so much more,” Duckworth said in a statement. “I’m thrilled the House passed this bipartisan legislation so swiftly after the Senate, and I look forward to this bill becoming law to protect the landmark highway, support local economies, and rightfully designate Route 66 as a national historic trail in time for its 100th anniversary.”

“Route 66 has been keeping this country – from Illinois to California – connected for nearly 100 years,” Durbin added. “In celebration of the countless family road trips, interstate commerce, and transportation feats that Route 66 has made possible, we must preserve the highway for generations to come. I’m proud the House has passed our Route 66 Centennial Commission Act, taking the next step in designating the highway as a national historic trail.”

“As America’s iconic first all-paved highway under the U.S. Highway System, Route 66 has been an integral part of the history, economy, and culture of countless communities across the country, including many in central and southwestern Illinois that I represent in Congress,” Davis said. “As we approach Route 66’s 100-year anniversary, the necessary preparations should be made to ensure that this historic highway is properly celebrated and preserved for generations to come. Lawmakers from both parties who represent Route 66 have been working on this legislation for several years now, and I’m glad that we’re one step closer to the Route 66 Centennial Commission Act being signed into law. I’d like to thank Sen. Duckworth for introducing this legislation in the Senate and Rep. (Grace) Napolitano for leading this effort with me in the House.”

Davis first passed a separate bill setting the stage for the centennial early last year. The new bill establishes a commission with representatives from each of the eight states along the course of Route 66, charged with organizing celebrations marking the centennial and preserving the highway’s legacy.

An abandoned drive-in provides shelter for old cars and trucks along Route 66 in central Illinois. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)

Route 66 was originally certified in 1926 and became known as America’s “Mother Road” as what’s believed to be the first fully paved roadway in the U.S. highway system. It was immortalized in the postwar era by the famous Bobby Troup song covered by Nat “King” Cole, Chuck Berry, and the Rolling Stones, tracing the course from Chicago to Los Angeles and advising motorists to “get your kicks on Route 66.”

Yet the highway became obsolete with the development of the Interstate Highway System in the ‘50s. For instance, in Illinois it runs parallel with Interstate 55, and much of the original roadway is now neglected and grass-eaten. But Route 66 has remained an iconic piece of Americana, and its memory has been boosted by Bob Waldmire, who grew up at the original Cozy Dog Drive-In along Route 66 in Springfield. Waldmire became a renowned “hippie artist” straddling Illinois and Arizona, and he worked to preserve and celebrate Route 66 throughout his life, designing a map mural outside the Route 66 Hall of Fame & Museum in Pontiac shortly before his death in 2009. (Footnote: Waldmire’s Volkswagen bus, now an exhibit at the museum, served as inspiration for the character of Fillmore in the Pixar “Cars” movies.)

Other states along the course are eager to claim their part in the Route 66 legacy. “Route 66 is iconic in Oklahoma,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe. “Reaching more than 400 miles through Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and countless other towns in between, our state is home to the longest drivable stretch of Route 66, also known as the Will Rogers Highway. I am proud to see our bipartisan legislation pass the Senate and now the House. Together, we can continue efforts to establish a commission that will help us best celebrate 2026 as the centennial anniversary of America’s first all-weather highway.”

“Route 66 runs east to west through my entire district and continues to provide vital transportation, economic, and community benefits to our San Gabriel Valley and American society,” added Napolitano, a California congresswoman. “Our local restaurants, shops, and other businesses, like so many others dotting the interstate from the heartland to the West Coast, provide rest breaks for travelers, allowing them to sample all the local flavors of our communities that are proud to be connected by the iconic road. As we are now just nearly five years away from the centennial, our legislation will aid the efforts of cities, like those in my district, who are reinvesting in Route 66. I commend our mayors, local chambers of commerce, and Los Angeles County for their ongoing work to revitalize and preserve Route 66 for future generations. I thank my Illinois colleagues, Sen. Duckworth and Congressman Davis, for co-leading this legislation and getting it through both houses of Congress.”