Stellantis Media Site Route 66 Trivia                                                Contact:                                                             Beth Ann                         Bayus                                                                                                Kristin                         Starnes                                                                                                                                                                                   Route 66 Trivia                                                                                                                                                           August 15, 2005,                                                                                                                      Auburn Hills, Mich.                                                       -                                                 Current road maps do not include old Route 66  Route 66 is 2448 miles long (about 4000 km)  Route 66 was commissioned in 1926 to consolidate as many bits and pieces of existing road as possible  Route 66 also is known as “The Mother Road,” “The Main Street of America” and “The Will Rogers Highway”  Route 66 crosses eight states and three time zones  Route 66 starts in Chicago and ends in Los Angeles (Santa Monica)  Some people think driving Route 66 in the opposite direction (West to East) is historically wrong, but mostly it’s just more difficult, since all available travel information describes the route from East to West   In 1926, only 800 miles of Route 66 were paved. Route 66 wasn’t paved end-to-end until 1937  Route 66 was officially decommissioned in 1985, but was replaced for daily use far earlier by the Interstates  Only parts of Route 66 are drivable these days, since it has been replaced by Interstate highways I-55, I-44, I-40, I-15 and I-10. However, a surprisingly lengthy amount of old road can be found by the more adventurous travelers