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A convoy re-creating a 1919 cross-country journey of the U.S. Army Transcontinental Motor Convoy will arrive in Gretna this evening on its way from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco.
Organizers with the Military Vehicle Preservation Association planned the journey to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the first convoy and the 200th birthday of highway namesake President Abraham Lincoln.
Organizers were expecting approximately 50 vintage military vehicles to travel the whole 3,200-plus-mile trip, which will take from June 13 to July 8 and will follow much of the original Lincoln Highway route. It took the original convoy 62 days to make the trip at an average speed of 6 miles per hour.
The oldest vehicles in the convoy are a 1918 Dodge touring car and a 1918 ammunition hauler with solid rubber tires, says convoy commander Terry Shelswell. The newest: a 1980s-era Humwee and a 120-ton tank transporter. The convoy was expected to reach Gretna around 5 p.m.
It will cross the Mormon Bridge and take I-680 to Dodge Street, then take Dodge Street west to Elkhorn and down to Gretna on Highways 6 and 31. Vehicles from the convoy will be on display at the Gretna American Legion, 11690 S. 216th St., from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday.
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