The Oklahoma Route 66 Association is asking fans of Route 66 and Oklahoma history to lend their voice to an effort to preserve the Ribbon Road, a unique stretch of the famous highway in Ottawa County.
“We agree that the road needs to be rehabilitated,” said Rhys Martin, president of the association. “With the centennial of Route 66 coming, it needs to be in good shape for local traffic and travelers.
“But it’s not acceptable when that work comes at the cost of removing what remains. If plans proceed as-is, the Ribbon Road will lose the qualities that make it special. That’s why we’re asking the public to get involved.”
On the southwest side of Miami, Oklahoma, there remains a three-mile stretch of original U.S. 66 unlike anywhere else in the nation. It’s called the Ribbon Road or Sidewalk Highway.
When it was paved in the early 1920s, the state decided to make it only 9 feet wide. The legend goes the state had only enough money to cover half the distance between Miami and Afton. So it instead made the road half as wide.
“This narrow lane of asphalt and concrete still retains a great deal of historic integrity, especially considering it’s over 100 years old,” Martin said. “But all of that will be lost if we don’t make the case for preserving it.”
The association has launched a campaign to let officials know the integrity of the Ribbon Road is not only important to Oklahomans, but to people across the country and around the world. Those interested in that preservation can go to oklahomaroute66.com/ribbon to sign a petition and get more information on how to engage officials.
The current plans from Ottawa County call for the milling up of the asphalt lane and replacing it with modern pavement.
They also call for paving the shoulders beside the original lane, but Martin concedes that alteration will help stop further degradation.
“The maintenance of the gravel, and the gravel itself, really started to accelerate the damage to the road. Paving the shoulders in a way where the original concrete and asphalt stand out is one way to protect the
road for future generations. But if the original pavement is gone, what’s left to protect?”
“People from every country you can think of choose the Route 66 road trip as their way to experience America. Ribbon Road is an authentic part of that experience, just like a stop at the Blue Whale in Catoosa or a visit to the Round Barn in Arcadia. When it’s replaced with a replica, it loses everything that makes it special.”
(Image of the Ribbon Road between Miami and Afton, Oklahoma, courtesy of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association)
THE RIBBON ROAD MUST BE PRESERVED, NOT ALTERED!