Skip to main content

Paper Highways: Proposed US Route 66 Alternate to Las Vegas, Nevada

By

During February 1956 the State of Nevada in concurrence with the States of California and Arizona submitted a request to the American Association of State Highway Officials to establish US Route 66 Alternate to Las Vegas.  The proposed US Route 66 Alternate would have originated from mainline US Route 66 in Kingman Arizona and followed a multiplex of US Routes 93-466 to Las Vegas, Nevada.  From Las Vegas, Nevada the proposed US Route 66 Alternate would have multiplexed US Routes 91-466 back to mainline US Route 66 in Barstow, California.  The request to establish US Route 66 Alternate was denied during June 1956 due to it being completely multiplexed with other US Routes.  This blog will examine the timeline of the US Route 66 Alternate proposal to Las Vegas, Nevada.


The history of the proposed US Route 66 Alternate to Las Vegas, Nevada

On February 15, 1956, the Nevada State Highway Engineer in a letter to the American Association of State Highways Officials (AASHO) advising that six copies of an application to establish US Route 66 Alternate to Las Vegas had been submitted.  The Nevada State Highway Engineer noted the State of California agreed to sign US Route 66 Alternate if approved and they were anticipated to submit their own like request to the AASHO Executive Committee.  



The actual submission to by the Nevada State Highway Engineer was made on February 27, 1956.  As noted in the intro, the proposed US Route 66 Alternate would have originated from mainline US Route 66 in Kingman Arizona and followed a multiplex of US Routes 93-466 to Las Vegas, Nevada.  From Las Vegas, Nevada the proposed US Route 66 Alternate would have multiplexed US Routes 91-466 back to mainline US Route 66 in Barstow, California.  The rationale for US Route 66 Alternate being established was that it was desired by the communities along the prospective highway to obtain access to an alternative alignment of US Route 66.  





Below the proposed routing of US Route 66 Alternate can be seen on a sketch map. 


Below a description of proposed US Route 66 Alternate can be observed.  Proposed US Route 66 Alternate is stated to be 259 miles long. 


The Arizona State Highway Engineer affirmed concurrent agreement with the US Route 66 Alternate proposal to the AASHO Executive Secretary in an undated Western Union telegram.  



The AASHO Executive Commitee considered US Route 66 Alternate during the June 27, 1956, meeting and ultimately denied the request.  The AASHO Executive Committee noted the rationale for not approving US Route 66 Alternate was that it was completely concurrent with existing US Routes.  It is unclear if truncation of US Route 466 in favor of US Route 66 Alternate would have swayed the AASHO Executive Committee given it already served function being sought by California, Nevada and Arizona.  The AASHTO would abolish the adoption of split alignments US Route alignments in 1996. 

Labels:

Comments

unclevito said…
Barstow, Arizona? You mean Barstow,CA
10:16 AM
Challenger Tom said…
Yes, California. I miss the typo on the proof read, but it’s corrected now.
10:41 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Petroleum Club Road (former California State Route 33 and US Route 399 past the Lakeview Gusher)

By
Petroleum Club Road is an approximately 5.3-mile rural highway located in the Sunset Oil Field of western Kern County.  This corridor was constructed as a frontage road of the Sunset Railroad and would be the site of the Lakeview Gusher in 1910.  Petroleum Club Road was the original alignment of California State Route 33 and US Route 399 between 1934-1938.  In 1938 the West Side Highway was constructed west of Lakeview Gusher and still serves as the current alignment of California State Route 33.   Part 1; the history of Petroleum Club Road Petroleum Club Road is the original highway which linked the oil communities of Maricopa and Taft.  Both cities were developed around the early boom of the Sunset Oil Field.  The early Sunset Oil Field can be seen centered along Cienega Canyon Road southwest of Buena Vista Lake in Township 11 North, Range 23 West on the 1898 Kern County Surveyors map .  In 1901 Post Office Service would be established at the Su...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kuakini Highway (former Hawaii Route 11 in Kailua-Kona)

By
Kuakini Highway east of Palani Road in Kailua-Kona is the original alignment of Hawaii Route 11.  The highway upon being commissioned in 1955 began at the Palani Road (then Hawaii Route 19) and followed Kuakini Highway southeast towards Holualoa.  Hawaii Route 11 was shifted to an extension of Queen Kaahumanu Highway during the late 1970s which bypassed downtown Kailua-Kona.   This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series.  A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking  here .  Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 11 and Kuakini Highway in Kailua-Kona Hawaii Route 11 is part of Mamalahoa Highway (the Hawaii Belt Road) and is the longest Hawaiian State Route at 121.97 miles.  The highway begins at the mutual junction of Hawaii Route 19 and Hawaii Route 190 in Kailua-Kona.  From Kailua-Kona the routing of Hawaii Route 11 crosses the volcanic landscapes of southern side of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

By
The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...
3 comments
Read more