The excellent 2006 documentary about indie businesses struggling to survive, “Independent America,” will have its television debut on July 4 on the Sundance Channel, the filmmakers announced.

There’s no time yet announced for the broadcast; check your listings closer to the Fourth of July holiday.

We reviewed “Independent America” and highly recommend it. Route 66, which is featured in a few scenes of the film, is a microcosm of what independent businesses across the country are facing today. You can order the DVD here.

Don’t look to rent it from Netflix or Blockbuster; it’s not at either. Instead, check to see whether your indie rental store has it.

KOTV in Tulsa uncovered an interesting story about the Route 66 town of Catoosa, Okla., and the state highway department’s plan to close an access ramp from an adjacent highway.

The state wishes to close a ramp from westbound U.S. 412 onto northbound Oklahoma 66, aka old Route 66. The state says the ramp’s design is dangerous by modern standards, and that only 300 vehicles use it daily. By comparison, 19,000 vehicles a day use the eastbound U.S. 412 exit onto northbound 66.

Naturally, the town’s residents don’t like the idea:

Catoosa felt slighted when the turnpike (Interstate 44) moved further east a few years back. Now they feel like ODOT’s plan to close an exit ramp would cut them off even more.

“No, I don’t like it and the citizens don’t like it,” Catoosa Mayor Rita Lamkin said. [...]

“That’s basically our main street right now,” Lamkin said. “It would cut off our main street.”

Apparently, you can get onto northbound 66 from westbound 412. But it’s not a snap.

“You have to get off the expressway to do that Texas turnaround, and do the turnaround, get back on the expressway to come back east and then locate the exit on 66. It’s more complicated than that sounds,” she said. “It’s going to discourage the people coming into our town that’s going to hurt our tax base and hurt our growth.”

The state highway department takes lightly the impact closing an access ramp would have on the town. But Catoosa isn’t stupid. It’s been bypassed by the interstate before. It’s not going to let highway access be further restricted without a fight.

And a lot more people now are aware of what destruction a highway bypass can inflict because of this Oscar-nominated scene from “Cars”:

BusinessWeek reports that many diners are increasingly seeking independent restaurants when they go out to eat. Here’s why:

Consumers tired of the chains’ clinical atmospheres, indifferent service, and mass-produced products are returning to small specialty stores where they can find unique products and know the face behind the counter.

In a sense, it’s something of a return to the time when mom-and-pop shops dominated the retail business landscape. “People are tired of the Wal-Mart effect and department stores, [where] they see exactly the same thing,” says Michael Levy, professor of marketing at Babson College in Babson Park, Mass. Levy adds that higher income and widespread travel abroad also have driven Americans’ interest in shopping small.

The article gives an old Route 66 establishment as an example of eating out going full circle:

In 2004, Irv’s Burgers, a West Hollywood (Calif.) institution, faced extinction when developers planned to raze the 57-year-old burger joint and put up a Peet’s Coffee in its place. But Irv’s, an enduring example of post-WWII roadside architecture (not more than a tiny shed, with a patio and a few stools and counters) located at the end of the old Route 66 on Santa Monica Boulevard, had a fierce customer base that refused to see the spot turn into another chain store. “The idea that a corporation was going to muscle in and use this place disturbed me and a lot of people,” says Don James, a semiretired movie composer and an Irv’s regular.

James and fellow regulars banded together and fought to preserve the place rockers Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison used to frequent, and which singer Linda Ronstadt once used as the backdrop for one of her album covers. It’s also a place where the current owners, the Hong family, work the tiny grill and know the regulars by name. In fact, they can usually anticipate orders before the regulars can open their mouths. In 2005, Irv’s loyalists succeeded in getting the city to give the burger spot historic-landmark status — ensuring the institution’s future.

If you seek independent restaurants along the Mother Road, click on the restaurant tab at the top of this page. If you’re not on Route 66, I suggest Roadfood.com as an excellent guide. Better yet, hit the independent restaurant in your town.

Most people think the only way to get to the bottom of the Grand Canyon is either by hiking or pack mule.

But, as the Arizona Republic reports, you can actually drive into the canyon, via Diamond Creek Road in the Hualapai Indian reservation. And the way to get to that road is via old Route 66 through Peach Springs.

Here’s another site about the road to the Grand Canyon.

While you’re at it, you can read about other attractions in the Peach Springs area, including the Route 66 standbys Grand Canyon Caverns and Hackberry General Store.

The National Park Service announced today that two Route 66 sites in Texas were added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In the small settlement of Conway in Carson County, an old section of Route 66, listed as Texas Farm Road 2161, was placed on the register.

Here’s what Mock Turtle Press said about Route 66 in Conway:

Although Conway claims its share of old Route 66 buildings and businesses, the true star here is the road itself. Heading out of town, Route 66 veers away from Interstate 40 and into a landscape that is all its own. The independence of the road—its sense of freedom—the thumpety-thump that meets your ears as the pavement section lines smack your tires and roll away into yesterday—all will tell you, as we tell you here: this is a segment that MUST be driven if you want to understand old Route 66.

In the vicinity of Shamrock in Wheeler County, the Route 66 Bridge over the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railroad was placed on the register.

I’m having trouble placing where this bridge is. If anyone can send me a link or picture of it, I’d appreciate it.

The typically irreverent Roadside America was there on opening day of the Grand Canyon Skywalk. The report is one of the best I’ve read.

Roadside America also has a video from the ceremony. Much has been reported about Skywalk’s safety, but seeing the television reporters get buffeted by strong winds near the edge of the canyon, away from the Skywalk, was a lot more alarming.

Also, you can check out what the Hardest-Working Guy on Skywalk does.

Roadside America also has a second video of its drive on the horrid, unpaved road leading to Skywalk.

Parts of the best road, a 21-mile dirt 1 1/2-laner, is said to be almost impassible in rain; in dry weather, it’s really bumpy, dusty, and offers occasional boulder surprises.