In 1926, America's independent transportation trails were integrated into a unified numerical system, the United States Numbered Highway System, and Route 66 was officially established.

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Route 66

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Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California

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The Fascinating History of Route 66, America's Most Famous Road

Route 66's early origins date back to the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1916, which set the stage for the country's eventual national highway system.

In 1926, America's independent transportation trails were integrated into a unified numerical system, the United States Numbered Highway System, and Route 66 was officially established. Advertised as "the shortest, best, and most scenic route from Chicago through St. Louis to Los Angeles," the highway traversed 2,400 miles through eight states and three time zones. Its path was plotted along a loose combination of existing local, state, and national roads, a strategic route chosen to connect rural regions to major cities across the country. Route 66 wasn't the country's first major paved highway — the Lincoln Highway, stretching 3,000 miles between New York and San Francisco, predated Route 66 by over a decade — but it was the first all-weather, year-round, fully paved highway.

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