A story in the Tulsa World on Thursday provided an update on the fledgling Route 66 Task Force and other Route 66-related projects in the city.
The report contained interesting tidbits, including the status of the long-in-coming Route 66 Experience museum near the Arkansas River:
The major Route 66 project – an interpretive center at the plaza – is still in development and, depending on the scope, will likely need additional funding to accomplish. A feasibility study is under way.
The planned museum facility has $2 million from Vision 2025 and $5 million from the 2006 third-penny sales tax package tied to it. Ewing said estimates have reached $18 million.
“It may be that we need to rethink that entire project,” he said. “Either that or we need to find a private partner to make this happen and move it down the road.”
That matches what I’ve heard from a city official — that a public-private partnership for the museum is sought before construction begins.
Also:
A formal request has been made to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation for Route 66 navigation signs near all Interstate 44 exits. The committee also has inventoried all of the brown Route 66 historic signs and made a list of possible future sites. […]
Aaron Meek and Katie Plohocky, both members of the task force, said the No. 1 complaint they hear about Tulsa’s stretch is that it’s hard to find.
“Route 66 is traveled by a lot of people from all over the world, but they have to be able to find their way,” said Meek, who has the Campbell Hotel, the 11th Street Lofts and other property along the route.
Exit signs directing travelers to Route 66 would be a significant improvement to tourism in the city. A number of Route 66 travelers bypass Tulsa on the freeways.
Other things pertaining to the Mother Road in Tulsa:
- The new “West Meets West” statue at Avery Centennial Plaza, which will be dedicated at 2 p.m. today.
- Route 66 gateways soon will be built on the east and west edges of Tulsa.
- The historic Meadow Gold sign has been refurbished.
- Improved Route 66 signs may be installed.
- An events committee wants to organize annual events such as parades, runs and festivals on Route 66.
- Route 66-themed streetscaping and a Route 66 Interpretive Plaza has been completed on the city’s east side.
- A website about Tulsa’s Route 66 attractions is being developed.
- The Route 66 Task Force may evolve into a nonprofit.
The Route 66 Task Force was started by councilor and businessman Blake Ewing, who sees Route 66 as a mostly untapped resource in Tulsa.