On February 9, a public forum was held at the Phelps County Courthouse for the discussion of the Route 66 Corridor Management Plan (CMP) that is being proposed throughout the state. In conjunction with Great Rivers Associates, the Route 66 Association, and the Phelps County Historical Society, a plan to preserve and maintain the Route 66 corridor was discussed.

Spencer Jones and Jerany Jackson of the Great Rivers Associates have been traveling along Route 66 identifying the official and alternate routes, landmarks, and “intrinsic qualities” that make Route 66 special. They are currently working on a plan that could see the road classified, as an All-American Road by the state, which would allow for state funds to be used to protect and maintain the road.

“It is a mapping plan, an assessment of intrinsic qualities, and a strategy on how we maintain and enhance these qualities,” Jones explained.

Great River Associates has been identifying qualities of the road that are scenic, cultural, recreational, historic, natural, or architecturally rich and compiling these locations to include in the CMP, which will be submitted to the state at the conclusion of the process. Areas that can be developed around Route 66 are also being analyzed to encourage economic development.

Currently, the CMP is in the public forum portion of the process, which is used to identify areas of Route 66 that may have been missed, as well as identifying and encouraging citizens to take a proactive stance at getting this process moving.

“The Federal Highway Administration funded $40.7 million for 160 projects last year. Missouri got zero,” Jones said. “This process provides us an opportunity to bring some of these dollars local.”

“This is really a technical document. Missouri is rich in intrinsic qualities. We have all six (of the qualities that are used to aid in the classification process),” according to Jackson. These qualities are then compiled into the CMP document that will be submitted for the road classification project.

If Missouri can complete this process and have Route 66 marked as an All-American Road, money will be available for counties to maintain the road with help from the state.

“It is a great opportunity for tourism. Not only to capture local and regional travelers, but national travelers as well,” Jackson said. Since Route 66 travels from Chicago to Los Angeles, she believes that if properly maintained and protected, it could be used as a national campaign to bring visitors to the area.

The process has been a slow one, according to Jackson, but Great Rivers has been working tirelessly to inform the public, identify areas that will be utilized in the plan, highlighting attractions along the route, and encouraging economic development to further add in counties that would encourage tourism. The next step in the process will occur on July 1 with document development.

The team believes that Missouri is in a prime position to get its section of Route 66 classified as an All-American Road and that each county has a great opportunity to maximize its area, offering an economic development tool to bring in more tourism, business opportunities, and state funds to maintain Route 66.