Its name may not appear in a song title, but U.S. Highway 30 got a boost to its claim to fame Thursday when it received federal designation as a national scenic byway.
Jim Garrett, director of the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau in Lansing, said the region will be eligible for funding to publicize U.S. 30’s “historic and scenic value.”
Efforts to secure the designation from the Federal Highway Administration began more than a year ago, Garrett said. He credited Bob Lukens, the Chicago Southland Bureau’s public relations director, with spearheading the drive.
The declaration emphasizes the historical importance of the nation’s first transcontinental highway created for motor vehicle traffic, said Randall Lowman, economic development director for the Village of New Lenox.
The road may have even inspired the creation of the interstate highway system by President Dwight Eisenhower, who traveled the road in a military convoy when he was a young Army officer in 1919, Lowman said.
The diversity of the communities that border the 179-mile segment of the road–known locally as Lincoln Highway–is another point of interest, he said.
Membership in the coalition drew from tiny towns, such as Franklin Grove and Malta; suburban villages, such as New Lenox; Cook County; and state agencies, including the Illinois Department of Transportation, Lowman said.
The highway has left its mark on the region in many ways. The southwest villages of Frankfort, New Lenox, Mokena and Manhattan are collectively referred to as the Lincoln-Way area. Lincoln-Way High School, where a restored Lincoln Highway marker can be seen on campus, took its name from the road.
The scenic byway designation will gain New Lenox positive attention and will probably draw extra visitors and boost the regional hospitality industry, Lowman said.
Federal grant funding, which has totaled more than $130 million for scenic byways across the nation, will be available for preservation, safety and promotional efforts.