This is potentially big tourism news for Route 66 — a cross-country bicycle route that mirrors much of the Mother Road.
Here’s a portion of the press release, published by the SportsOneSource.com:
The United States is on a path to creating what could become the largest official bicycle route network in the world, thanks to the approval of a new plan by America’s leading authority on national route designations. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has just approved a National Corridor Plan laying out the framework and guidelines for the development of this system.
The plan identifies corridors connecting America’s urban, rural, and suburban areas. The corridors cover well over 50,000 miles, which, if transformed into routes along roads and trails, would create the largest official bicycle route network in any country or on any continent. By comparison, the planned Euro-Vélo network in Europe is projected to be 60,000 kilometers or 36,000 miles.
The U.S. plan has been under development for nearly four years under the auspices of an AASHTO task force on national bicycle routes, with representatives from federal and state transportation agencies and nonprofit organizations. The plan has gone through more than a dozen revisions—with input from hundreds of federal and state officials, cycling advocacy groups, and individuals—as well as review and approval by AASHTO’s committees on traffic engineering, design, and non-motorized transportation. […]
Now that the plan has been approved, states and nonprofits are free to work together and develop official interstate routes. According to Sullivan, several states are already moving forward, including Virginia, Michigan, and Florida. Numerous other states have also shown an increasing interest in creating routes that link urban, suburban, and rural destinations.
“We know this route network will not materialize overnight,” said Sullivan. “But then again, neither did the Interstate Highway System. We’re just thrilled to see the high level of interest right now.”
More about the project can be found at the Adventure Cycling Association.
As you can see on a screen capture of the U.S. Bicycle Routes Corridor Plan above, a major route from Chicago to Los Angeles mostly follows Route 66. It appears to miss the Mother Road’s portion of Kansas, part of northeastern Oklahoma and a portion of the New Mexico route from Santa Rosa to Albuquerque.
But, if implemented, such a nationwide bicycle route could be a boon for Route 66 because the pathway mirrors so much of it. Right now, it’s very difficult for cyclists to do Route 66 because of stretches of unavoidable interstate. A contiguous path would eliminate this problem, and provide another avenue for tourism.
UPDATE: Go read highway engineer Richard C. Moeur’s clarification of a few things about the plan in the comments section.
(Hat tip: David Willman)
I think there’s a basic misunderstanding about the corridor plan here.
It is NOT the intent to build a whole set of separated paths for cyclists along these corridors – instead, the intent is to determine the best facilities (highways, roads, and paths) along those corridors and then to map and sign them for long-distance bicycle travel, in a manner similar to the US Highway System.
There may indeed be some stretches in western states where the US Bicycle Route is routed along the shoulders of an Interstate – but in those states bicycle travel is already allowed on rural freeways.
As noted in the supporting documentation at https://www.adventurecycling.org/usbrs/, the lines on the map are corridors approximately 50 or so miles wide, and are not specific routes, roads, highways, or paths. A state can then examine the available facilities along the corridor and then determine the combination of roads / highways / etc. that are best suited for a US Bicycle Route, and can even reroute the corridor as needed to utilize the best routes (as long as any affected states are OK with it). This could then result in some segments being in far southeastern Kansas, etc.
I hope this clarifies things somewhat.
Richard C. Moeur, PE
Chair, AASHTO Task Force on US Bicycle Routes
My dad lives in Virginia and he has been singing the praises of this project for a long time. He is absolutely tickled that the first leg of the plan has already been built there. I think it’s a fantastic idea too.
just make sure the routes are “well marked” and bicycle-ist”s are protected from car morons when riding.
This is a fantastic idea, no doubt. But I hope implementation eschews the freeway option. Even if it’s legal, I can’t imagine a more dull routing for a bike facility.
Biking is about enjoying the journey, including the sights and stops along the way. Freeways, built for high-speed transit from city to city, are the antithesis of that.
Im hope Im alive if/when it opens.