City of Miami gears back up for Scenic Byways program

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April 17, 2010

By Krista Duhon news@joplinglobe.com The Joplin Globe Sat Apr 17, 2010, 10:58 PM CDT

MIAMI, Okla - — Wheels are again in motion regarding an Oklahoma Scenic Byways project that has been simmering on the City of Miami’s back burner for more than three years.

Two weeks ago, City Council members approved a contract agreement with the Oklahoma Scenic Byways Program to be administered by the Board of Regents of Oklahoma. The contract sets in motion a multifaceted historic sign project and opens the door for $120,000 in grant funding that will be paired with $20,000 in city funds and a $10,000 Convention and Visitors Bureau donation.

The project is designed to increase tourism in and around Miami by drawing attention to the section of the historic Route 66 roadbed that exists just outside the city limits as well the city’s place on the Ozark Trail, a predecessor to Route 66, according to the city's grant coordinator, Larry Eller.

“I apologize that this has taken so long,” Eller told council members as he expressed his frustration with the slow pace of the project. “The good news is that the environmental review has been completed, the state historical society has signed off on the project and the Oklahoma State Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the University of Oklahoma, has approved funding for the project.”

Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Amanda Davis said last week that she is glad to see the project moving again.

"We are consistently looking for ways to increase visitor development in Miami and Northeast Oklahoma,” Davis said.

“This grant gives us huge potential to attract more new visitors into town,” Davis said. “The goal is to get people out of their vehicles and interested in the new additions. I vision hundreds of guests taking photos in front of the new mile marker and the gateway arch. These are two exciting attractions for all of Route 66, and we are elated that they will be in Miami."

Elements of the project include:

n The reconstruction of a historic 40-foot wide “Miami, Oklahoma — The Gateway” sign spanning Main Street just north of Steve Owens Boulevard.

n The reconstruction of the 21-foot Ozark Trail Milepost Marker, referred to as an obelisk, in downtown Miami. A similar marker was constructed in the 1920s in the middle of the intersection of what became Route 66 and Central Street. According to Eller, the Ozark Trail highway system was one of the first regional highway tourism promotions in the United States.

Miami’s obelisk showed the distance between Miami and other cities on the Ozark Trail route. A base for the planned replica has been prepared at the corner of Main Street and Central Avenue on an easement provided by Security Bank.

n The purchase of directional signs, for placement on state highways, directing tourists to the Coleman Theatre and the Route 66 Ribbon Highway south of Miami, which is the only remaining 9-foot-wide section of the original Route 66 highway in the United States.

n Erection of historical markers on the Route 66 Ribbon Highway, Coleman Theatre, near the “Miami, Oklahoma — The Gateway” sign downtown, and at the Ozark Trail Obelisk downtown. The signs will explain the historic significance of the sites, which are all listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.

“This grant gives us the opportunity to direct traffic to some staple attractions along Route 66,” Davis said.

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City of Miami gears back up for Scenic Byways program

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