December 21, 2024
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Will County gets Route 66 grant

Funding aimed at getting area ready for 100th anniversary in 2026

By Bob Okon
Red Carpet Corridor travelers pose for a photo before their journey at the Route 66 sculpture outside the Joliet Area Historical Museum on Saturday, May 6, 2023.

More Route 66 sculptures like this one outside the Joliet Area Historical Museum will come to the area with funding from a state grant aimed at supporting Route 66 tourism. (Bob Okon)

The Joliet railroad museum is one of four projects being supported by a $1.6 million state grant under a Route 66 Grant Program.

The funds support Route 66 enhancements ahead of a surge in tourism expected in 2026 for the 100th anniversary of the historic highway that runs through Joliet and other parts of Will County.

The local grants went to Heritage Corridor Destinations and the tourism bureau for Will, Grundy and four other counties.

“In addition to expanding statewide marketing efforts, this grant means more Route 66 attraction development in our communities as we prepare for the centennial of Route 66,” Bob Navarro, President and CEO of Heritage Corridor Destinations, said in a news release.

The grant will fund:

• The Joliet railroad museum being created at the former Union Depot Tower along with an exhibit on the city’s bridges.

• Additional Route 66 three-dimensional sculptures for Crest Hill, Bolingbrook, Elwood, Wilmington, Darien, Oak Brook Terrace and the Chicago Southland Oasis.

• Public art murals highlighting the past and future of Route 66 to be commissioned from local artists and installed in Lockport, Wilmington and Pontiac.

• Electric vehicle stations to be installed in Joliet, Lockport and Bolingbrook with the aim of allowing visitors in electric vehicles to stay longer local communities while traveling Route 66.

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