Those who are traveling Route 66 through northeastern Oklahoma may need to make alternative plans over the next few days because of flooding.

According to the Tulsa World:

By the evening of July 4 the Neosho River is expected to crest 1.25 feet higher than it was during historic floods in 1986, Spurgeon said in a telephone interview.

All roads into the city are likely to be cut off by rising waters tonight. The Will Rogers Turnpike remains open at this point. (my emphasis)

The National Guard also is evacuating portions of the city.

Oklahoma has experienced the wettest June on record. The big problem for Miami is that parts of the Kansas border saw up to 15 inches of rain in recent days, according to data I saw at the National Weather Service. All of that water has to go somewhere, and one of those places is the Neosho River.

UPDATE: The Joplin (Mo.) Globe also has a story about Miami.

Parts of South Main Street, Steve Owens Boulevard and parts of the athletic fields at Northeast Oklahoma A&M College will be under water, Spurgeon said. Oklahoma Highway 125 already is closed and Oklahoma Highway 10 and U.S. Highway 69 [old Route 66] are expected to close, Spurgeon said.

“This is a very serious flood.”

“If you received water in 1986, you are going to get it, maybe worse,” said Kevin Trease, Miami fire chief.

UPDATE2: KOTV in Tulsa has aerial video footage of the flooding around Miami.

UPDATE3: The Joplin Globe, in addition to its main story, has a slide show of photos, many of them from Miami. What’s interesting is the Globe has a link to the U.S. Geological Survey, which shows the Neosho River near Commerce, Okla., at 26 feet, which is 11 feet above flood stage, at just before midnight on Monday.

However, this USGS link in nearby Parsons, Kan., shows the level of the Neosho River dropping. It is hoped this bodes well for Miami.

UPDATE 7/3/07: According to the latest USGS survey at noon Tuesday, the Neosho River has reached about 28.5 feet (that’s 13.5 feet above flood stage) in nearby Commerce and seems to be still going up.

The Joplin Globe reports that many roads in Miami have been rerouted, with long lines in many areas. Weather officials predict the river won’t fall below flood stage until Saturday.

The Tuesday edition of the Miami News-Record had a scary prediction:

The current flooding event is expected to push the Neosho River to near 32 feet - 17 feet above flood stage - and water in Miami is anticipated to be several feet higher than was recorded in the 1986 flood.

And the Globe has a slide show of photos from Miami’s 1986 flood. In the ninth photo, you’ll see an image of the old neon sign of the Thunderbird Motel on Route 66.

UPDATE 7/4/07: According to the USGS, the Neosho River is finally starting to recede after reaching a peak of about 29.5 feet — which is 14.5 feet above flood stage.

According to the Joplin Globe, parts of Miami are under eight to 10 feet of water. More than 50 roads have been closed, but the newspaper says that U.S. 69 from Kansas (aka Route 66) remained open. It’s the worst flood in more than 50 years.

A startling factoid: Miami has seen 14 major floods in 21 years. More than 30 percent of the community is in the 100-year flood plain. It may be time to consider a buyout of the worst-flooding areas and not allow homes to be built there anymore.

The Edmond (Okla.) Sun has a story about the history of a long-defunct Conoco gas station on Route 66 between Luther and Arcadia, Okla.

The station dates to 1926 — the very beginnings of Route 66. It also has a less-than-sedate past:

Unsolved mystery looms there where the body of a murdered man was found during the ’40s. Also, law enforcement broke up a counterfeit money ring a few years later. Counterfeit money was passed through a small window with curtains to a hidden room attached to the back of the building.

The station closed. Now, petunias grace the front window.

According to Route 66er Guy Randall:

There was no electricity here at that time and gas was dispensed from 55 gallon drums laid on their side on a wooden cradle. You could buy a cold soda only when the ice man had been by, and all lights were kerosene. [...] The story goes that it closed when the owner was arrested for counterfeiting $10 bills in the “secret” back room.

(Photo courtesy of Guy Randall, the Road Wanderer.)

I saw this story, “Disappearing Fast: Route 66, Chicago-Los Angeles,” on the Los Angeles Times’ Daily Travel Deal Blog a few days ago, but didn’t plug it here because it contained some inaccuracies.

The story makes it sound like Route 66 is going to quickly disappear after the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program sunsets in 2010. It also says that budget motels on 66 “usually” don’t have Wi-Fi.

However, the Route 66 community has chimed in on the story’s comment section and has effectively refuted the dubious information. So the story is safe to peruse now.