Route 66 was California's most famous highway in the pre-freeway era of the 1930s and 1940s - the "mother road" that brought hundreds of thousands of newcomers to Southern California from other states.
By and by, the heavy east-west traffic shifted a couple of miles southward to Interstate 10, and State Route 66, as it was re-designated, became a local artery for the "Inland Empire" east of Los Angeles.
Nevertheless, vestiges of the old Route 66 - which also inspired a very popular song and a television series -- remain, such as a few funky old motels. And the cities that lie along its route want to capitalize on its fame.
One by one, those cities have petitioned the state to turn over their portions of Route 66, also called "Foothill Boulevard" to local control so they can be incorporated into local development plans. Rialto and Fontana have already taken control of their shares, and on Wednesday, the state Senate gave final approval to a bill that would cede another portion to Claremont.
The measure, Senate Bill 993 by Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, was sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger by a 35-0 vote.
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