The 2017 season to apply for a Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program cost-share grant has begun, and applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. Mountain time April 3.
According to the cost-share grant page:
The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program provides cost-share grant assistance to support the preservation of the most significant and representative historic Route 66 buildings, structures, road segments, and cultural landscapes in the eight states through which the route passes. Assistance is also provided to support research, planning, oral history, and educational outreach projects related to the preservation of Route 66.
Program cost-share grant funds are provided through congressional appropriations, which are determined each new fiscal year. Project eligibility criteria requires a minimum 50% (1:1) cost-share match provided by the applicant. All preservation, restoration, and rehabilitation projects are required to conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
Since 2001, the program has awarded 122 projects a total of $1.9 million in grants, with $3.1 million in cost-share match, totaling $5 million in public-private investment.
The notice of funding opportunity may be downloaded here. A document that lists funding criteria may be downloaded here.
A list of frequently asked questions is here.
If you’re unfamiliar with the program, here’s a video about it:
If you have a historic Route 66 property that requires key maintenance, such as a new roof, or other important improvements, such as a better climate-control system, those are the types of projects the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program looks upon favorably.
Those who have questions or wish to discuss a proposal for a grant can contact program director Kaisa Barthuli at kaisa_barthuli(at)nps(dot)org or calling (505) 988-6701. Barthuli will be happy to help; she’s been with the program since its beginning and knows the challenges many Route 66 property owners will encounter.
(Image of 2005 cost-share grant recipient, the Brush Creek Bridge, aka the Rainbow Bridge, near Baxter Springs, Kansas, by Jimmy Emerson, DVM, via Flickr)