Fact #37166

The National Route 66 Preservation Bill is passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, allocating a budget of $10m over ten years to preserve the road, which was opened in 1926. A vital trans-America route from Chicago to Los Angeles, for over fifty years, it was immortalised in the song Route 66, written by Bobby Troup and first recorded by The Nat King Cole Trio. Later versions were recorded by Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, The Manhattan Transfer and Depeche Mode to name but a few. The road also became the subject of the Route 66 television show in the 1960s.