An Introduction...

Most people know all about Route 66, the highway that brought the world to the states of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California between 1926 and 1985. But did you know the Mother Road had Daughter Roads?

Probably the best known Daughter Road of US 66 is US 666, which outlasted the Mother Road by 19 years. (The term for this kind of highway is an Orphan Road.) This north-south highway went from the international border at Douglas, Arizona (across from Agua Prieta, Sonora) to Cortez, Colorado. 666 met and merged with 66 at Gallup, New Mexico (actually it was the terminus of the road from 1926-1938 and 1992-2003.

There were rumors that Route 666 went blank in 2003 due to superstitions about a passage found in the Bible (Revelation 13:18). Nonsense! The reason why the number was withdrawn was because the 666 had outlived its usefulness. If a historical group wants to do something special for Route 666 they can do what I am trying to do with Route 466.

Here is a list of the Daughter Roads of US 66:
* US 166 - near Joplin, Missouri, to South Haven, Kansas - (1926-present)
* US 266 - Warner, Oklahoma, to Henryetta, Oklahoma - (1926-present)
US 366 [A] - Amarillo, Texas, to El Paso, Texas  - (1926-1932)
US 366 [B] - Willard, New Mexico, to Moriarty, New Mexico - (1932-1938) [to Albuquerque after that]
US 466 [A] - Bernardo (?), New Mexico, to Los Lunas, New Mexico - (proposed in 1925, never signed)
US 466 [B] - Kingman, Arizona, to Morro Bay, California - (1935-1964) [gradually shortening after that time)
US 566 - Hondo, New Mexico, to San Antonio, New Mexico - (1926-1932) [replaced by US 380]
US 666 - Douglas, Arizona, to Cortez, Colorado - (1926-2003) [actual designation was shorter after 1992]
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* Indicates a currently valid Orphan Road

US 466 had two versions. The first section was proposed in 1925, but when the Congressional committees got together to figure where the roads would actually go, they discovered that the road between a place they called Bernardo (which I haven't seen in any maps, it was at the junction of US Routes 60 and 85) and Los Lunas would be coextensive with US 85. So the highway was never signed. Now we will guide you on this road, even though it was never really US 466 (but it's the thought that counts, right?)

The second version was posted from 1935 to 1971, although after 1964, it was just a tagalong highway through the states of Arizona and Nevada (with US 93 between Kingman and Las Vegas and with US 91 between Las Vegas and Barstow). The major cities it went through were Kingman, Las Vegas, Barstow, Bakersfield, and Morro Bay. It only met US 66 at Kingman, although both 66 and 466 went to Barstow... the two roads did not converge there... The junction of Routes 91 and 466 was about three miles northeast of the junction of Routes 66 and 91. Today, though, the freeway that is marked California 58 (the road that replaced 466) has been routed almost six miles southwest of Barstow.

Eventually, it's hoped the original US 466 will be taken over by an extension of Interstate 40 to Morro Bay. For some of the old US highways, freeways were the end of the road, for US 466, it could be a new beginning. There is so much history on the road.

In my case, I have a personal interest in Route 466: It was on this highway that my dad and his parents arrived in Bakersfield in 1935. They left Northeastern Oklahoma to a new life in California. Dad's life at that time was much like the Joads in John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, although the family only had three people. No matter how many people there were in a group, it was always tough when there were no resources. As a motorist who has made numerous cross country trips, with modern conveniences and enough money to get me through, I can appreciate those 20th century pioneers.

I dedicate this site to the memory of my dad.