Travel Route 66’s historic Hooker Cut, once rumored to be the deepest road cut in America!
🛣️🚗 “This section of Route 66 has been described by Rittenhouse as ‘an engineering triumph and truly a joy to the traveler.’ After you pass through the breathtaking dolomite and limestone rock faces surrounding the historic road, stop by the historic Hooker Church and Graveyard and catch a glimpse of life in much simpler times.” — Courtesy of Pulaski County Tourism Bureau
📜📖 History and Details: Construction of Hooker Cut began in 1941, requiring the excavation of over 280,000 cubic yards of limestone. The blasting and crushing process alone produced more than 87,000 tons of aggregate. At its completion, Hooker Cut was the largest road cut in the United States, reaching a depth of 91 feet from the top to the roadbed. As you pass through, you can see every layer of exposed limestone.
The project was initiated to accommodate the heavy traffic and large vehicles traveling to and from Fort Leonard Wood during World War II. In August 1942, the construction firm O’Dell & Riney of Hannibal, Missouri, successfully bid on a contract to build a 685-foot-long bridge across the Big Piney River— another critical component of the project. Notably, no other bids were submitted, likely due to wartime material shortages.