Does Route 66 have a different name?

In John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939), the highway symbolizes escape, loss, and the hope of a new beginning; Steinbeck dubbed it the Mother Road. Other designations and nicknames include the Will Rogers Highway and the Main Street of America.



Route 66, known as the "Mother Road," is officially named the Will Rogers Highway. This designation was established in 1952 to honor the famous American humorist and entertainer who was born in Oklahoma, one of the states the route traverses. Beyond this official title, the road is affectionately called the "Main Street of America," a nickname it earned because it served as the primary thoroughfare for hundreds of small towns across eight states. In 2026, as the road prepares for its 100th Anniversary, it is also frequently referred to as the "Road of Dreams" or "Historic Route 66." Interestingly, in many local municipalities, the road carries standard street names like "Santa Monica Boulevard" in California or "Adams Street" in Chicago. While the official "U.S. 66" designation was removed from the federal highway system in 1985, its legacy as the "Mother Road" remains its most recognized and culturally significant name.

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U.S. Route 66 (also known as Route 66, U.S. Highway 66, The Main Street of America, The Mother Road and the Will Rogers Highway) was a highway in the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926. However, road signs did not go up until the following year.

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Eventually, Route 66 was rerouted to higher ground in the 1930s and the area dwindled into a ghost town. There are vacant farms and ruins of the old tourist court left, and you can see the endings of both the Jericho-Alanreed and Groom-Jericho sections of the Jericho Gap.

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U.S. Route 20 is the ??longest road, beginning in Boston at Route 2 and runs through to an intersection with US 101 in Newport, Ore. A dozen states make up U.S. Route 20, covering 3,365 miles of road.

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Without much fanfare, the Mother Road was removed from the U.S. Highway System. The end of Route 66 had been a long time coming, though. The new-fangled Interstate Highway System had taken its place and the old, crumbling road no longer had much purpose.

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During the 1940s and '50s, Route 66 was known as The Main Street of America. The glittery new blacktop stretched more than 2,000 miles over eight states from Chicago to Los Angeles, winding through small towns, past hundreds of cafés, motels, gas stations and tourist attractions along the way.

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In some states Rt 66 is not well- marked and it was often difficult to find where it picks up when one section of it ends. But all in all it is worth the effort if you want to see some almost forgotten bits of Americana. Lots of worthwhile stops along the way, but they are scattered across 2,400 miles.

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