Let's say you're driving from St. Joseph to Columbia or St. Louis.

You can go the busy way - down Interstate 29, then east on I-70 - and deal with trucks, congestion and speeding drivers. Or you can go a more relaxed way, across U.S. Highway 36, which now is four lanes virtually the entire way across Missouri (the last section, a little ways east of Macon, will be complete by next summer.)

Traffic on Highway 36 is not nearly as heavy, speeds generally aren't as fast and there are far fewer trucks. And now the highway will have something else to recommend it: a smart project designed to recognize and celebrate some of the famous personalities who hail from the region.

You probably know that J.C. Penney came from Hamilton, Mo., but did you know there's a J.C. Penney Museum there? How about the Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Marceline? Or the Gen. John Pershing Boyhood Home in Laclede?

The project, dubbed "Missouri Highway 36 - The Way of American Genius," will promote those sites, and more.

"This is something we have wanted to do for the past eight or nine years," says Marci Bennett, executive director of the St. Joseph Convention & Visitors Bureau, which is leading the project. Bylaws are being outlined for the new organization, two URLs have been purchased to create a Web presence, and a meeting next Tuesday in Chillicothe will seek more ideas from communities along the route.

The timing is right, as Highway 36 has gained a little more attention each time another section has been converted from two to four lanes. The expansion has enticed more motorists to take the route as an alternative to I-70, says Kaye Malins, director of the Walt Disney Hometown Museum. Those are potential new visitors to the sites. "I think it's going to be amazing," Ms. Malins says.

In fact, you may not even want to travel to Columbia or St. Louis. How about making the Penney Museum your destination? Or General Pershing's home? It could be a nice day out. And you'll have a smooth, four-lane road to take you there and back.