The Last 100 Miles of Route 66 in southwest Illinois is taking on new life with the addition of the Six on 66 Monuments which were installed recently.
Six communities: Granite City, Collinsville, Hamel, Litchfield and Carlinville (Edwardsville’s monument is coming soon!) were placed the weekend of Oct. 1. These larger than life Route 66 shields are great locations to stop for photo ops along the Mother Road.
The eye-catching monuments were funded through a $919,000 Route 66 grant received by the Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau from the Illinois Office of Tourism and DCEO in the Spring. The funds were used to create 12 postcard style murals along Route 66. The grant is also funding the renovation of the West End Service Station in Edwardsville in to a museum and Route 66 Welcome Center. Updates to the historic Cannonball Jail are also part of the grant. Both of those projects are anticipated to be completed by Spring 2023.
