Completed by 1938, this route ran 2448 miles across three time zones and through eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Its original intent was to connect the main streets of small and urban towns along its route, opening access for trading and travel to anyone. Its diagonal path through a more temperate climate, linking many towns in the Midwest, added to its vitality as a trading and trucking route.