Arcadia Route 66 Roadbed - Arcadia, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 40.005 W 097° 18.001
14S E 653864 N 3948318
This 0.9 mile section of original roadbed is one of the few places where you can drive on the same roadbed that was traveled by hundreds of thousands of people who headed West.
Waymark Code: WMANWK
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 02/05/2011
Views: 10
Just east of the intersection of Route 66 and Hiwassee Road, about one mile east of the town of Arcadia, you have the opportunity to leave the current roadway, and travel a mile on a piece of history. The coordinates shown above place you at the west end of this section of road.
Coordinates at the mid-section: 35 39.583 97 17.606
Coordinates at the east end of the section: 35 39.587 97 17.415
Constructed in 1922, this roadway is the prescribed 18 ft. across, with an additional 62 ft. right-of-way, for a total of 80 ft. The half-way point in this section is easily recognizable, as it is the east and west adjoining "ends" of two separate road construction projects, each with a different road surface design.
One section, constructed in 1928 is the standard "Bates Type" roadway, made of pure Portland Concrete. The other section, constructed in 1929 used the "Modified Bates Type" which was 2 inches of asphalt surface over 5 inches of concrete base, with 9 inches of concrete edging. In 1928, 90% of all Portland Cement was manufactured in Ada at the Oklahoma Portland Cement Company. The complete paving of Route 66 took twelve years, from 1926 to 1938.
The National Register nomination refers to a 3 ft. high three-sided concrete marker placed next to the roadway at the mid-point. We were unable to locate this marker. Perhaps you will be able to find it, and can post the coordinates in your log.
Route 66 was dedicated on November 11, 1926, when a uniform numbering system for the newly created National Highway System was adopted by all states. Route 66, which connected Chicago and Los Angeles became the premiere road, the "way out west." In 1939, John Steinbeck immortalized Route 66 in his book, "Grapes of Wrath," when he called it "the Mother Road," a name which has continued down through the decades. Route 66 was officially de-certified in 1985, however, is still a well-traveled road locally, and attracts many travelers each year who want a bit of nostalgia. Instead of taking the direct route as our interstate system does, Route 66 meandered across the country, detouring to go down Main Street of thousands of towns. [Details taken from the Historic Register nomination.]
This section of roadway was the Mother Road through this area until 1952, when a new alignment took the road to the north on the other side of the hill. Today, the road is only locally used by the homeowners along this stretch of road.
Street address:
South, Southeast from the intersection of Route 66 and Hiwassee Road
Arcadia, OK US
73007
County / Borough / Parish: Oklahoma County, OK
Year listed: 1999
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949
Historic function: Transportation
Current function: Transportation
Privately owned?: no
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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