Congressman Darin LaHood’s mission to get Route 66 designated a National Historic Trail is one step closer to a vote in the full House of Representatives.
LaHood’s House Resolution 3600, known as the Route 66 National Historic Trail Designation Act, passed unanimously through the House’s Natural Resource’s Committee yesterday. The legislation would designate Route 66 as a National Historic Trail, which will expand economic and historic development opportunities across all communities and states that Route 66 runs through.
LaHood called Route 66 the main artery of transportation from the Midwest to the West Coast, saying the legislation would provide powerful economic development tools for communities throughout Illinois, creating jobs and opportunity for residents in his district.
The act would also create a permanent program to preserve, promote, and economically develop the highway. Route 66 was part of the original U.S. Highway system created at the turn of the 20th Century, and currently cuts through portions of Springfield, Auburn, all the way down to St. Louis.