A small movement is percolating to change the name of New Mexico Highway 333 east of Albuquerque to Route 66, reported the Mountain View Telegraph newspaper.
One of those who want it changed is Fred Rael, co-owner of the Sedillo Hill Travel Center in Tijeras, N.M.:
Rael doesn’t care for the N.M. 333 designation and has been busy over the past couple of years bending the ears of anyone who might be able to change the designation back to Route 66.
“I think it’s very important for New Mexico,” Rael said. “It’s good for business, there are a lot of Route 66 aficionados out there.”
Rael has at least one government official on his side in Bernalillo County Commissioner Wayne Johnson. […] One of those other things is to change name of N.M. 333 to Old Route 66, much in the way that the state highway is called Central Avenue through Albuquerque.
Johnson said he is working with the state Department of Transportation to see what can be done.
“This isn’t only important for those in the East Mountains, but for people west of Albuquerque and all the way to Moriarty,” he said.
The story also quotes Fred Cain of Indiana, who’s a proponent of recommissioning U.S. 66. He claims there’s “a lot more support” from the states in recent years about his idea.
However, I don’t know of a single Route 66 association in any of the Mother Road’s eight states that supports Cain’s proposal. The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program doesn’t support it, either. That’s because recommissioning U.S. 66 would necessitate tearing down old bridges and razing or moving businesses close to the road to meet modern highway standards.
But changing the name of Highway 333 in New Mexico to Route 66 seems a less-problematic idea. And such a move would help tourists in navigating the Mother Road.
“But changing the name of Highway 333 in New Mexico to Route 66 seems a less-problematic idea. And such a move would help tourists in navigating the Mother Road.”
Exactly. That’s all I ever really wanted to do. Just change the name of the “Mother Road” back to U.S.66.
If I could go back to the very beginning and start all over, I don’t think I’d call my initiative a “recommission” initiative – I think I’d call it something else. Maybe a “resigning initiative” or something. When people hear or see the word recommissioning, they tend to envision bulldozers rolling and tearing out old bridges just like you mentioned abover. That is never what I wanted to do or see. In the end it may not matter. Route 66 is coming back. One sign at a time. That’s fine with me.