Illinois Route 66 preservationist extraordinaire John Weiss and his crew on Saturday dug out part of a pedestrian tunnel that once was used to walk under Route 66 in Odell, Ill., according to a report by the Bloomington Pantagraph.
About 30 volunteers from the association and town members helped to dig up the first four steps and put up a railing.
When the tunnel was built, Route 66 was nearly impossible to cross because of the large amounts of traffic. School children who lived on the east side of town but attended St. Paul’s School on the west side used the tunnel. The tunnel was blocked and the stairs covered in the 1940s, when Route 66 moved to the west side of town.
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While digging up the dirt, Ike Widner of Morris found a marble sitting on the second step. The marble will be saved and placed in the historic gas station in Odell that was also preserved by the association.
“It was just sitting there on the step,” he said. “It is a piece of history, too.”
The Illinois Route 66 Association's Web site also has a story from the excavation here, including one of the photos I've posted down below to show what the remnants of the tunnel look like once it was unearthed.
Once again, John and the Rt 66 Association of Illinois are to be congratulated on a job well done.