Route 66 Triple Crossroad in Time

Between its inception in 1926 and disbanding in the 1980s, the path that Route 66 followed through the landscape constantly evolved. Many of the changes were safety related (i.e. removing sharp corners) or economic (taking a shorter path).

On the west side of Bellemont, Arizona's Navaho Army Depot, there is an intersection where three Route 66 roadbeds cross; the abandoned original asphalt from the 1920s, 1930s, and the concrete 1940s roadbeds.

The wide modern-ish looking road is from the late 1940s. The combined path of the 1920s and 1930s red asphalt (now deteriorated to gravel) can be seen to the southeast (past the parked 1966 Mustang). To the northeast, the 1920s and 1930s roadbeds diverge at the point that the 1940s roadbed crossed and take their independent paths through the forest where the red asphalt is still in good shape. Down these cuts through the forest can be seen the current Interstate 40 that supplanted Route 66 in Arizona in the '70s and '80s.

Truly a transportation crossroad in time.....

USA-Canada / USA-Arizona

Lat: 35° 14' 44.3" N
Long: 112° 52' 3.6" W

Elevation: 2192

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: High. Pinpoints the exact spot.

Canon XTi (400D) DSLR, Sigma 8mm f3.5 fisheye lens, Velbon D-580 Tripod, Nodal Ninja 3 (NN3) Pano Head, Apple MacPro Dual/Quad 2.8GHz XEON, PTGui Pro 8.310, Bracketeer 4, Photoshop CS5 Extended, CubicConverter 2.2.1