Route 66 is a living, two-thousand mile long history museum, filled with hundreds of tour guides and thousands of constantly changing exhibits. And it's always open, free of charge. (Some gas required.)

Select a section below to learn more about the Mother Road in Illinois.

Learn about the road's humble beginnings as the old Pontiac Trail, the beginnings of state highways in Illinois, paving the Chicago-to-Saint Louis highway (Route 4) and the evolution of the U.S. Highway System. It's the birth of a road: Route 66.

Find out how Route 66 jumped from town to town, alignments changing and bypasses swelling to four lanes as its path across the state changed, traffic swelling and city streets jamming with cross-country travelers.

Find out how Route 66 was replaced by Interstate 55 from Chicago to Saint Louis and how the success of the highway itself and its periodic expansion paved the way for its decommisioning in 1977.