The Oklahoma Route 66 Association needs your help to preserve one of the most important sections of Historic Route 66 in the country: the Ribbon Road outside of Miami, Oklahoma.

PLEASE NOTE any money donated via this website goes to PROMOTING THE PETITON ONLY - not to the Oklahoma Route 66 Association. If you would like to donate to us directly, please go to: https://oklahomaroute66.com/donate

If you’re not familiar with this unique segment of the highway, here’s a summary. In 1922, four years before US Highway 66 came into being, the State of Oklahoma was working on paving the Ozark Trail. Due to budgetary constraints, officials had a choice about the section between Miami and Afton: pave half of it and wait, or pave all of it at only nine feet wide. Of course, automobiles were not yet terribly common…so if one car encountered another coming the other way, one could just pull off to the side to let the other pass. Not only was it unique in width, but the makeup of the pavement is different than any other road along Route 66. A thin layer of asphalt is contained within concrete curbs and a base.

This road served as Route 66 from its inception in 1926 until it was bypassed in 1937. There are two segments left, the northern stretch covering about three miles on the south side of Miami. Today, the road is not in good shape. Age is a factor, but primarily the use of gravel and grading equipment has caused an accelerated decay of the existing roadbed. If you’ve driven it yourself, you know that entire sections of the original pavement are missing and the visible areas are rough, pitted, and in need of attention. Local traffic is mostly heavy agricultural machinery, which further damages the century-old road.

Still, it attracts the attention of travelers from around the world. You can often find rental cars and classic cruisers on the single lane, taking in a landscape that has changed very little since those early days. It’s a unique tourist attraction that has no equal anywhere else between Chicago and Santa Monica. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

You can find a detailed timeline at www.oklahomaroute66.com/ribbon but after several years of advocating for the road's historic integrity, the current plan still calls for removing the existing road and putting down new pavement. This completely destroys the authenticity of the road itself.

The Association responded firmly that destroying the road in order to preserve it – wasn’t preservation at all. We agreed that certain sections were decayed beyond repair, but that significant sections of the Ribbon Road could be patched and retain the historic, authentic road that attracts visitors from around the world.

This petition is to show the Ottawa County Commissioners, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, preservation advocates, contractors, and everyone involved with this project that destroying the existing road is unacceptable.

If you live in Oklahoma especially, we need you to call or write your legislator and other public officials about this urgent situation. With the Centennial of Route 66 on the horizon, attractions like the Ribbon Road are what bring people to Oklahoma to experience our 400+ miles of Route 66. If it becomes a glorified bike path, it loses its integrity as a historic landmark.

Finally, share this campaign. The more people we get involved, the greater success we will have in preserving this stretch of road. At this point, it would be better to do nothing than mill up the existing pavement. But we hope we can convince the powers that be to patch what exists and truly preserve the Ribbon Road for generations to come.