Failure™ Magazine

Route 66: Road Worthy

Revitalizing Route 66 in Arizona.

Written by Jason Zasky   Filed under Business, Science & Technology

Most importantly, however, the momentum created by the Route 66 Initiative has fostered a new spirit of cooperation among government agencies, business owners and private industry, who are now working together to tackle the economic challenges faced by Route 66 communities.

“A lot of these communities are strapped for resources and to try to overcome these [economic and environmental] challenges alone would be a large and daunting undertaking. But when working with the EPA, ADEQ and all the other agencies that came together for this partnership it seems a lot more manageable,” says Witt.

In fact, when Winslow’s famous “Standing on a Corner” site—a major tourist attraction—burned in a fire on October 18, 2004, some thought that downtown Winslow was doomed. But the city received a $96,000 grant from ADEQ to clean up the site and surrounding area, and Winslow has been infused with newfound optimism.

Still, locals are well aware that even with the Route 66 Initiative, revitalizing Route 66 communities will require a long-term commitment from many different agencies at all levels of government. “We are literally starting from the ground up,” begins Witt, “and it takes time to go from cleaning up the soil to putting a new business on a site and then bringing in new jobs and new revenue.”

But other states have already taken notice and may soon begin executing similar initiatives. “Route 66 passes through several states that are experiencing some of the same challenges,” begins Witt. “A lot of these states—as well as others with similar transportation corridors—are looking into taking the lessons we learned and the ideas we developed and using them elsewhere,” she continues.

Of course, to people like Atkins and Davis, developing and redeveloping Route 66 communities is a no-brainer. “There’s a lot of pride in the town of Winslow,” says Atkins, a sentiment that might just as easily apply to Kingman.

Never mind the fact that “people still want to get their kicks on Route 66,” says Davis. “It reminds us of days gone by that people want to relive.”

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