The City of Albuquerque unveiled a new website last week that counts down to Route 66’s centennial in 2026 and events related to it.
The $34,000 website — at visitalbuquerque.org/route-66-centennial — was announced on Tuesday at the still-not-open, $13 million Route 66 Visitors Center on the city’s west side.
The Albuquerque Journal reported an opening date for the center has still not been given, but in October, the newspaper was told it would be running by May.
A ribbon-cutting was held for the Route 66 Visitors Center in 2022, but it still has not had consistent hours of operation.
Still, the city’s mayor indicated its opening is imminent.
As the centennial creeps closer, Mayor Tim Keller spoke on the excitement for the visitor center to open and the local challenges facing the historic highway.
“We have this facility, and we have it just in time to fully utilize as the headquarters for the centennial,” Keller said. “Now that you’re all here, I think you can see why it is the absolute perfect spot. It is also something, by the way, no one else in America has.”
A city official also described the forthcoming centennial celebrations on the City on the Edge Podcast:
(Screenshot of the home page of Albuquerque’s new Route 66 centennial website)