Over the past three weeks I’ve been working my method from Chicago to Santa Monica on Route 66, some 2,400 miles of misplaced freeway which for many years had been the lifeblood of American motoring. Route 66 had its beginnings in 1926 because the US began constructing a nationwide freeway system.
As the auto turned extra inexpensive, Route 66 boomed and the cities alongside the way in which turned thriving stopovers, with motels, gasoline stations and diners popping up all through the nation. It was a defining period for the US. The period was additionally a defining interval for the oil trade. Cities like Ash Fork, Arizona, which has by no means had a inhabitants of greater than 1000, housed a dozen gasoline stations, a number of motels and quite a few locations to eat. The gasoline stations mirrored not solely the demand for gas but additionally the extreme competitors that was created to provide it.
However with the choice to construct the Interstate system, Route 66 slowly vanished and the cities alongside the freeway had been more and more bypassed. The gasoline stations closed and the motels slowly vanished. In the present day, a drive alongside Route 66 is a treasure hunt for what stays, a few of it in ruins and a few superbly restored by motoring lovers for the brand new vacationer commerce.
However Route 66 isn’t simply concerning the demand for gasoline, it’s additionally concerning the provide. The freeway cuts by means of Oklahoma, an vital oil producing area of the US and residential to one of many main international oil pipeline hubs. Simply north of Route 66 between Tulsa and Oklahoma Metropolis sits the city of Cushing. It’s maybe not a spot many individuals have heard of, however it’s the supply level for a West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil futures contract bought on the New York Mercantile Change. What occurs in Cushing can impression the world as was seen in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic underway. WTI costs briefly went adverse, reflecting the truth that storage in Cushing was successfully full.
However change is underway. All through Route 66 in Texas and New Mexico, wind generators will be seen of their tons of, and electrical car charging stations are starting to seem in among the cities alongside the route, reflecting the brand new demand from American motorists.
How Route 66 is formed by the longer term stays to be seen, however at this time it nonetheless represents an interesting historic portrait of motoring and the oil trade within the USA.
