A New Mexico Department of Transportation official told an Albuquerque television station that only two to three years of life are left for the so-called Singing Road on Route 66 in Tijeras.
KRQE-TV told Kimberly Gallegos, a DOT public information officer, the rumble strips on Route 66 designed to play “America the Beautiful” when motorists roll over them at 45 mph no longer are recognizable. She also said NMDOT isn’t sure how to repair them.
National Geographic added those singing rumble strips back in 2014, but NMDOT said they haven’t done maintenance on those strips since. “They used specialized equipment in these rumble strips to put the tune and the song to it so that in itself seems far out of our league. We watched as they did it and it was an interesting watch but that’s not something that dot has put down on our roads before,” said Gallegos.
National Geographic brought the rumble strips to the stretch of Route 66 to slow drivers down as part of a study. NMDOT says they never got the results of that study but were happy to be featured on the show.
They also said they do not know how much it would cost to restore to its original song. “So there’s two to three years of life remaining on that roadway,” said Gallegos.
Gallegos said the agency is in preliminary talks to repair the rumble strips. The sign that once marked the Musical Road is long gone, but handmade signs have replaced them for now.
A few months ago, Route 66 Musical Roads LLC submitted plans to the U.S. Route 66 Centennial Commission to create musical roads in all eight states of Route 66 before the centennial in 2026.
Chris Hill and Pete Thompson of Route 66 Musical Roads were part of the initial installation of the first Musical Road in Tijeras.
Hill, reached by email, stated: “We are in advanced talks with multiple state DOTs and sponsors. We hope to have an update on further developments soon.”
(Image of a sign near the musical road along Route 66 in Tijeras, New Mexico, in 2014)