Route 66 electrified
One of the USA's most famous drives will soon be traversable by electric car as part of the Route 66 Electric CorridorA 483km stretch of the famous Route 66 in Illinois, USA, will be fully equipped with electric vehicle infrastructure within six months.
Yes, now even EVs can get their kicks on Route 66.
Illinois state and local governments have agreed to a deal with Illinois governor Pat Quinn worth at least $US1 million that will see fast-charging stations installed along an almost 500km stretch of the famous highway, allowing electric vehicles to cover the vast distance without having to spend extended time recharging.
The charging stations will be installed at eight towns along the route, starting in the state's capital of Chicago and running along Lake Michigan before ending at St Louis in Missouri.
Each charging station – the EV equivalent of a petrol station – will feature a minimum of one fast-charge outlet which can recharge most EV battery packs to around 80 per cent of capacity in around 30 minutes.
The Illinois Route 66 Electric Corridor rollout is scheduled to be finished by mid-2015.
As well as government backing, the EV infrastructure roll out is also backed by several car-makers, including BMW, Nissan and Mistubishi.
Although Route 66 is not officially part of the United States highway network anymore, it is still a popular tourist road. It also has historical significance as the first US highway to be fully paved and was also home to the world's first McDonald's drive-thru.
And now that a stretch of the popular tourist road will be traversable via EV, Route 66 will mark another milestone in a life that started in 1926.
But as the developed world continues to forge ahead with EV sales and infrastructure, encouraged chiefly via government incentives and tax breaks, Australia is being left behind.
Sales of electric vehicles in Australia are still extremely low, largely because they are still very expensive.
The combined sales of the Nissan LEAF ($39,990) and Holden Volt ($59,990) stand at 212 units out of more than a million cars sold so far in 2014, and both vehicles are declining in popularity.
Image: © Dietmar Rabich
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