The Oklahoma Route 66 Association is prodding a U.S. senator to reintroduce a bill that would designate Route 66 as a National Historic Trail.
Rhys Martin, president of the association, sent out an email to members this week to contact U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and urge him to reintroduce a bill similar to Senate Bill 3609 from the 2017-2018 session that failed to advance to the president’s desk.
We ask that our members reach out to his office to check on the status of this bill and ask what is being done to move this legislation forward. As we approach the centennial of this historic highway in 2026, it’s vitally important that the road is properly recognized and preserved for this momentous anniversary. The National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, which had been serving the road in such a role, expired last year.
You can contact Senator Inhofe at 405-208-8841 (OKC office), 918-748-5111 (Tulsa office), or 202-224-4721 (Washington DC office) or at inhofe.senate.gov.
The more people that reach out to the Senator, the better understanding he will have regarding the importance of this legislation. Thank you for your time and doing what you can to help us preserve Route 66 for future generations!
Bill Thomas, chairman of the partnership, confirmed in an email Thursday he requested the action from Martin:
The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership has been in touch with Rhys Martin, President of the Oklahoma Association, asking him to encourage Oklahomans to reach out to Senator Inhofe’s office, as the Senator was one of co-sponsors of legislation introduced last year to designate Route 66 a National Historic Trail. Our goal is to encourage the Senator’s office to help move the process forward this year.
I’m not discouraging non-Oklahomans from contacting Inhofe, but it’s my understanding congressmen tend to prioritize correspondence that comes from residents of the Sooner State.
So, participation from Okies is particularly important.
Thomas said in January he was holding off urging an introduction of a Route 66 Historic Trail bill because of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding a proposed pipeline across the Appalachian National Trail.
The high court made its ruling in June, and the decision didn’t prove detrimental to historic trails or proposed Route 66 legislation. Inhofe and his staff no longer have any justification to not introduce the bill, given its previously demonstrated and bipartisan popularity.
You can read this analysis on the benefits of designating Route 66 as a National Historic Trail.
(Image of an Oklahoma Route 66 sign by Infinite Ache via Flickr)