Happy 95th Birthday to the US Highway System, including the most famous highway of all, Route 66! Before US Routes were established, a series of auto trails traversed the country. In 1925, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) created a national numbering system for roads, with north-south roads having odd numbers and east-west routes having an even number, lower numbers in the north and higher numbers in the south. This US Numbered Highway System was officially approved on November 11, 1926. Until 1956 and the adoption of the Federal Aid Highway Act, which authorized funding for our current Interstate Highway System, these were the highways that lead travelers across the country. The original intent of the interstate system was to supplement the numbered highway system, but many of the routes (especially in the West) were rerouted along the interstates and though running concurrently, more or less ceased to exist in many places. The decommissioning of Route 66 in 1985 (a very sad day!) is considered the end of an era for the US Highway System. Traveling the old US Routes is one of our favorite ways to travel and a way to discover so many quirky, funky, and historical places throughout the country.
: The faint remains of a 1921-31 alignment of Route 66 near Parks, AZ.