MIAMI, Okla. — Route 66 advocates aren't giving up yet, but hopes have definitely faded that a hundred-year-old stretch of county road that once was part of the historic highway can be preserved. Ottawa County officials indicated recently that they are moving forward with a plan to replace three miles of a unique one-lane roadway known as the "Ribbon Road," a onetime piece of Route 66 just south of Miami.
The project, using federal funds, has been in the works for four years and has gone through various iterations. The Tulsa-based Oklahoma Route 66 Association , which has been involved in a consulting role, said that from the start its recommendation has been to patch the road and preserve as much of the original asphalt as possible. However, that option has been rejected, an association official said.
"We totally understand that you need a road that's safe for people to travel on, but there has to be a solution out there that also preserves this piece of road," said Rhys Martin, association president. "There's nothing else like it on all of Route 66. I've never even seen other strips like this anywhere in the country.
" Dating to the early 1920s, the targeted stretch was paved at only half the normal width, likely due to budget constraints at the time. The result — a unique 9-foot-wide one-lane roadway — would be added to Route 66 when the latter was officially established in 1926. It remained part of the route until 1937, when it was bypassed.
The Ribbon Road was added.
