page_title: U.S. Route 66 in Arizona
section_title: The decline of Route 66
hierarchical_section_title: U.S. Route 66 in Arizona / History / The decline of Route 66
caption_attribution_description: Abandoned zoo cages -Two Guns, Arizona.
context_page_description: U.S. Route 66 also known as the Will Rogers Highway, was a major United States Numbered Highway in the state of Arizona from November 11, 1926 to June 26, 1985. US 66 covered a total of 385.20 miles through Arizona. The highway ran from west to east, starting in Needles, California, through Kingman and Seligman to the New Mexico state line. Nationally, US 66 ran from Santa Monica, California, to Chicago, Illinois. In its height of popularity, US 66 was one of the most popular highways in the state of Arizona, sometimes carrying over one million cars a year.
  In the early years, US 66 had to compete with other major U.S. Highways for construction and improvement funding. The highway also played and important role during the Dust Bowl as a means for refugees to escape the ruined farmlands of the Great Plains and migrate to California. Experiences of these refugees traveling through Arizona were largely detailed in John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, and the 1940 movie adaption that followed. During the mid-20th century, the highway became a tourist destination, spawning the existence of several new motels, restaurants and other road-side businesses and attractions.
context_section_description: The Arizona State Highway Department had spent a total of $19 million (equivalent to $144 million in 2018) on US 66 alone between 1944 and 1954. This was largely due to the gigantic increase in traffic on US 66 through Arizona over the last decade. A Flagstaff-based newspaper once stated that US 66 carried the largest amount of interstate travelers of any highway in Arizona. By 1954, more than one million cars a year were traveling down US 66 from New Mexico to California. The increased traffic had also led to a greater number of car accidents and traffic jams, the latter of which earned US 66 the unfortunate reputation of being "The World's Largest Traffic Jam". By 1956, at least one out of six deaths resulting from car accidents in Arizona took place on US 66. This helped the highway earn another negative nickname, "Bloody 66".
  The rough shape, narrowness and safety issues along US 66 and similar highways in Arizona contributed to public sentiment towards rebuilding and improving safety along the state's highways. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower heavily endorsed the long-standing idea of constructing a nationwide network of four-lane divided superhighways. Originally proposed back in the 1930s, this system of nationwide freeways would have entirely controlled access through the entry and exit ramps, as well as grade-separated interchanges with other highways, roads, and railroads. The new freeways would also include smoother grades coupled with more gradual curves. These massive changes in highway construction were intended to help increase traffic flow and greatly reduce car accidents occurring on the national highway network. Eisenhower pushed the United States Congress to accept the idea and appropriate funding for the new system. Congress finally approved the proposal with the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, bringing into existence the Interstate and Defense Highway System. Several U.S. Highways in Arizona were chosen to become the corridors for the new Interstates, including US 66, which was slated to be replaced by I-40.
  By December 1960, approximately 15 miles (24 km) of US 66 had been rebuilt into the first section of I-40 to open in Arizona, and a further 23 miles (37 km) of US 66 was also undergoing conversion into I-40. By October 1962, 15.4 miles (24.8 km) of US 66 between Williams and Flagstaff was being rebuilt into parts of I-40. The new section was completed and opened to traffic later the same year. In 1966, a new four-lane steel bridge was opened over the Colorado River, replacing the Red Rock Bridge. US 66 was moved onto the new bridge, running concurrently with the new I-40 across the river. The Red Rock Bridge was closed following the opening of the new bridge and sat completely abandoned for over a decade. Unlike the Old Trails Bridge, the Red Rock Bridge would never be repurposed. In 1976, the bridge was entirely dismantled. Today, only concrete pilings remain where the bridge once stood.
  By September 1967, over 115 miles (185 km) of I-40 had been constructed or rebuilt from sections of US 66, with another 82.4 miles (132.6 km) under way. I-40 around Flagstaff was completed and opened to traffic in 1968, bypassing US 66 and US 89 through town. By 1971, almost all of US 66 east of Flagstaff had been rebuilt into I-40, save for the city streets through Winslow, Joseph City and Holbrook. I-40 had also been completed around Flagstaff and west to the junction between SR 64 and US 66 east of Williams. Another section of I-40 was complete between Seligman and Ash Fork, with a tiny 3-mile (4.8 km) section completed just east of Ash Fork. Almost all US 66 had been converted into I-40 between Kingman and Topock as well, save for a seven-mile (11 km) section east of Topock and a 12-mile (19 km) section south of Kingman. A small section of I-40 had also been completed between Kingman and a junction with US 93 about 13 miles (21 km) south of Hackberry.
  Controversy came with the construction of I-40. There was a large opposition to freeway bypasses around the towns along the route. Much
caption: The abandoned zoo ruins at the Two Guns ghost town along former US 66
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