'Route 66 is about people.' Kansas and Missouri towns keep historic highway alive, 100 years later ^57.6%

KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR - By Rachel Schnelle - 5/6/2026, 9:00 AM

Optimism Bias 15.8% - Post Hoc (False Cause) 13.7% - Appeal to Authority 9%

Route 66 was established 100 years ago last week. While the historic 2,448 mile highway stretched from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California, its origins lay in Springfield, Missouri. In 1926, Cyrus Avery — or the "father of Route 66" —- sent a telegram from the Colonial Hotel in Springfield to Washington, D.C., asking to... more