Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The city used money from a state grant to reclaim and recover a nearly forgotten stretch of historic Route 66 going from Carpenter Park to the Sangamon River.

The 16-foot-wide reconverted walkway was actually a part of Route 66 in the 1930s but had since been neglected and had become overgrown and littered with debris.

Now that the 100th anniversary of the trans-continental highway is next year the city stepped up efforts to add this site to the growing list of Route 66 attractions.

At a Wednesday morning ribbon cutting around 60 people gathered to hear from speakers such as Mayor Misty Buscher, State Senator Doris Turner and Springfield Tourism Director, Scott Dahl.

Dahl told WTAX News the tree-lined, quarter mile length has been cleared and cleaned and now features a grand entryway, information pallets and recreations of popular billboards and burma-shave style signage that travelers might have seen in the 1930s.

The mayor says Springfield is the very in-state hub of Route 66 geographically and will feature as many as 70 attractions related to the fabled roadway.