A DEAD ROAD THAT’S STILL ALIVE: Route 66 still holds allure for travelers, industry. “Route 66 hasn’t been a real highway for almost three decades. The last section of the fabled U.S. route from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, was dropped as a federal highway in 1984. But its hold on travelers’ imaginations has revived motels, diners, souvenir shops, gas stations and other buildings along the old route.”