MIAMI, Okla. — Bad roads are an invariable gripe from Oklahomans, but there is one stretch of road in Ottawa County that a growing number of people don’t want repaved.
That’s because it is the historic Ribbon Road along Route 66 outside of Miami.
2 News first shared this story in April as community members pushed to not repave the road.
On July 8, the Route 66 Commission told us that Ottawa County is moving forward with its goal of repaving the stretch of road.
Route 66 Commission President Rhys Martin said the county said they reviewed their recommendation to preserve the road, but they decided to move forward with their original plan.
The original plan includes milling out the historic asphalt, paving the shoulders and adding more striping, Martin said.
"It will essentially reduce the Ribbon Road to an embedded lane in the middle of a normal road, destroying its historic integrity and the qualities that make it such a draw for Route 66 travelers," he said.
Why is Route 66 special?
In November 1926, the Mother Road became a main thoroughfare in the country and the legend began. It was decommissioned in 1984, but America's love for the Mother Road remained.
In 1990, the United States Congress passed the Route 66 Study Act of 1990, recognizing that Route 66 had “become a symbol of the American people's heritage of travel and their legacy of seeking a better life."
A house from the 1920s is the third project for Eli Chenoweth and his fiancée, Tori Lofgren. Their shaved ice shop, The Frozen Elephant, and a soon-to-be Airbnb are next door to the house.
They grew up in Miami and moved back after graduating from college in 2022.
When they were kids, they saw the Mother Road as just part of the town— not a destination.
“You don’t really see that until you own a business or a shop firsthand where you can see the various people who come through town,” said Chenoweth. “Like a young couple from France just a couple of weeks ago. They were obsessed with the town and the surrounding area.”
One popular destination is the Ribbon Road. It was paved in 1922 and only nine feet wide.
“Legend goes that they only had enough money to pay for half of the road between Miami and Afton or the entire road but half as wide,” said Rhys Martin, President of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association.
At 102 years old, the Ribbon Road looks ridden and old. Martin said Ottawa County Commissioners want to repave it. However, he is urging them to instead patch it.
“Then you’re still going to see the road and its history,” Martin explained. “You’re going to see all the bumps and the lines in the pavement, where, if it is brand new, it’s just pavement.”
Martin’s Change.org petition gathered 2,000 signatures protesting the
READ MORE: 2 News Oklahoma takes a closer look at Route 66 and the impact on Oklahoma
For Chenoweth, it’s about his town and businesses thriving, “if you take away attractions on the outskirts of town, you are cutting their visit short.”
While Chenoweth is not against improvement, he believes in using the materials already there—and maintaining their integrity—to pave the way to success.
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