City of Tulsa Awarded Oklahoma Route 66 Revitalization Grant to Install “Musical Road”

The musical road segment in Tulsa will be installed on the Southwest Boulevard Bridge, seen on the left here next to the historic Cyrus Avery Memorial Bridge.

The City of Tulsa has been awarded a $90,000 grant from the latest round of the Oklahoma Route 66 Revitalization Grant Program to install a musical road along a stretch of Tulsa’s Mother Road. The road will be the first musical road installed in Oklahoma.

“I want to thank the Oklahoma Route 66 Revitalization Grant Program, the Tulsa Route 66 Commission, and the many partners who helped us secure this award and continue to advance projects along the Mother Road,” Mayor Monroe Nichols said. “Their commitment has been vital to our Centennial preparations and to strengthening Tulsa’s role as a key destination on Route 66. This installation represents another important step forward in that work.”

A musical road is a stretch of road engineered to produce specific musical notes when vehicles pass over it at a certain speed. This effect is achieved by creating grooves or rumble strips into the pavement at varying intervals. When a vehicle's tires hit these grooves, vibrations generate sound waves that translate into a recognizable melody inside the car.

Musical roads are installed all around the world, including along other stretches of Route 66 in Winslow, Arizona and Tijeras, New Mexico.

“This is going to be a gamechanger for Tulsa!” said District 6 City Councilor Christian Bengel, Vice Chair of the Tulsa Route 66 Commission. “Not only will this be the first musical road in the state, but it will celebrate an Oklahoma artist and put the city on the map with other worldwide attractions in time for the Centennial!”

Ultimately, the City of Tulsa will work with Route 66 Musical Roads LLC to implement the installation.

“Music and driving have been perfect partners since the invention of the vehicle. To have multiple musical roads along U.S. Route 66, one in each state, is obvious to us,” said Chris Hill, co-founder of Route 66 Musical Roads LLC. “But more than that, these projects only succeed when local communities take ownership. From the choice of location to the celebration of opening day, it’s the people of Tulsa who will make this installation truly special.”

“Route 66 is not just a highway-it’s a living thread of American culture, built on the stories of the towns it passes through,” added Pete Thompson, co-founder of Route 66 Musical Roads. “Our role is to provide the engineering and the vision, but the community provides the soul. Working with local leaders, schools, and Route 66 groups ensures these musical roads belong to the people who live alongside them.”

Tulsa’s musical road will tie into a national Route 66 Centennial certified project to dedicate a musical road in each of the eight states that Route 66 traverses. The project is part of official Route 66 Centennial celebrations and initiatives recognized by the Federal Route 66 Centennial Commission.

“As a Federal Commissioner and ardent champion of the Mother Road, I am absolutely thrilled by Tulsa’s selection for the state’s first musical road,” says Michael Wallis, author of seminal book, Route 66: The Mother Road and a Federal Route 66 Commissioner. “The chosen location at the spot on the Arkansas River where East Meets West is brilliant, as is the choice of an iconic Oklahoma song for travelers from around the world to hear.”

The musical road in Tulsa will be installed on the Southwest Boulevard Bridge, which runs parallel to the Cyrus Avery Memorial Bridge, an important landmark in Tulsa’s history as the Capital of Route 66. The site is near several other roadside attractions, namely Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza, the East Meets West sculpture, Route 66 skybridge, the neon sign park, and another Oklahoma Route 66 Revitalization Grant recipient, the 66-foot-tall dinosaur roadside attraction coming soon to Howard Park.

This project is also unique because it is the city’s first “roadbed” attraction. The musical road will be created using thermoplastic rumble strips that when driven over play notes of a song. Work is currently underway to secure permissions and copyright to use a song by an Oklahoma musician, highlighting the importance of featuring a song by a local artist.

Spearheaded by the Tulsa Planning Office and Public Works, this project is one of many ways that the City of Tulsa is preparing for the Centennial next year. The musical road is anticipated to be installed in March 2026, weather permitting, in time for the beginning of tourist season and ahead of the National Main Street Conference in April.