KSDK-TV in St. Louis points out this excellent but (for me) bittersweet Web site by the Missouri Department of Transportation on the 50th anniversary of the interstate highway system.
The site contains a lot of interesting history and photos (including ones displayed here). But it's bittersweet to read because the interstates nearly sounded the death knell for Route 66. This excerpt describes the first toll:
Missouri can stake several claims to having the nation’s first interstate highway. On Aug. 2, 1956, Missouri became the first state to award a contract with the new interstate construction funds, inking a deal for work on U.S. Route 66 – now Interstate 44 – in Laclede County.
This excerpt helps explain why Route 66's days were numbered as a main artery:
When the Missouri State Highway Department was created in 1921, the state’s roads were in poor condition. Each county built and maintained its own road system, leading to a jumbled, uncoordinated tangle of highways that made it extremely difficult to drive across the state. … In 1926, the federal government laid out a grid of highways that ran between the individual states. These roads were designated as United States highways, but no federal funding was included for their construction or improvement.
In Missouri, several routes were given new names as part of this program. For example, Missouri State Highway Number 2 was renamed U.S. Route 40, and Missouri State Highway Number 14 became U.S. Route 66. These roads allowed drivers to travel beyond the state’s borders, but they were not modern superhighways. Instead, these early “interstate” roads were usually 18-feet wide with minimal shoulders. These roads also followed local topography, making them a hilly, winding challenge for Missouri drivers. Deadly accidents were common on these roads. For example, some stretches of Route 66 within Missouri were referred to locally as “Bloody 66” for the large number of fatalities that occurred. Clearly Missouri needed to improve its highways to carry increasing loads of traffic. In the late 1950s, the federal government stepped forward to help build a national system of superhighways that offered hope for quicker, safer travel.
In essence, "Bloody" Route 66 was a victim of its own success. As it became more heavily traveled, it became more accident-prone. I'm all for highway safety. But the interstates had their flaws. Snaking them indifferently through major cities destroyed neighborhoods. Bypasses wrecked the main business districts of small towns. Even businesses near the interstates struggled if they were unlucky enough to be too far away from the limited-access exits and entrances.
If Ike had seen what his creation had wrought, I think he would have done some things differently.
