About
The Historic Route 66 Ribbon Road, affectionately known as "Sidewalk 66," is one of the most remarkable and rare surviving pieces of America's Mother Road. Completed in 1922—four years before Route 66 was even officially designated—this iconic stretch of highway is famous for being a mere nine feet wide. Faced with a tight construction budget and a desire to connect as many local towns as possible, pioneer engineers opted to build a single, narrow lane at half the cost of a standard road, creating a fascinating transportation anomaly.
Driving this historic segment today offers an authentic taste of 1920s road-tripping. When early motorists encountered oncoming traffic, it forced a "passing dance" where both vehicles had to drop two wheels onto the rough gravel shoulders to squeak past each other. While most of the original alignment was eventually bypassed or widened, this tucked-away section survived because it was relegated to a local county road when Route 66 was realigned in 1937, preserving an irreplaceable slice of highway history.
To help modern travelers find and safely navigate and appreciate this historic zigzag, a beautiful granite monument was erected in 2012 at the intersection of US-59/69 and E 140 Road. The monument features detailed historical inscriptions and serves as the ultimate staging area for your visit. It provides a safe, wide pullover spot where you can park, read up on the highway's origins, and snap photos of the impossibly narrow road stretching into the beautiful Oklahoma countryside before you take a slow, cautious drive down the lane.
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Route 66 History
This historic 9-foot section was designated a landmark on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. While most of the original highway was widened over time, this specific loop survived because it was bypassed in...
Did You Know?
The ultra-narrow design was a clever budget hack. In 1922, the state could only afford $1 per square yard for construction. Rather than building a standard-width highway halfway, engineers chose to build a 9-foot road tw...
Fun Fact
The narrow strip earned the nickname the "Sidewalk Highway" because it is the exact width of a standard neighborhood sidewalk. When two early vehicles met on this road, both drivers had to drop two wheels onto the gravel...