question: The 19th-century transportation route that connected Idependence, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico runs the same path as what east to west highway?
answer: U.S. Route 56
context: Title: Santa Fe Trail
  Passage: The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Independence, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880.  Santa Fe was near the end of the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro which carried trade from Mexico City.
  Title: Chili Line
  Passage: The Chili Line, officially known as the Santa Fe Branch, was a narrow gauge branch of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW).  It ran 125.6 mi from Antonito, Colorado, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States.  The Denver and Rio Grande Railway (D&RG) began construction of the line in 1880 and completed the line from Antonito to Española, New Mexico, but could not build any further because of an agreement with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad (AT&SF).  The Texas, Santa Fe and Northern Railroad was incorporated to complete the line, and the line between Española and Santa Fe opened in 1886 and was transferred to the Denver and Rio Grande shortly thereafter.  The D&RGW closed the Chili Line in 1941 because of competition from road transportation, and the line was abandoned shortly thereafter.
  Title: Caja del Rio
  Passage: Caja del Rio (Spanish: "box of the river") is a dissected plateau, of volcanic origin, which covers approximately 84,000 acres of land in northern Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States.  The region is also known as the Caja, Caja del Rio Plateau, and Cerros del Rio.  The center of the area is approximately 15 miles (23 km) west of Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Most of the Caja is owned by the United States Forest Service and managed by the Santa Fe National Forest.  Access is through New Mexico Highway 599, Santa Fe County Road 62, and Forest Service Road 24.
  Title: Santa Fe University of Art and Design
  Passage: Santa Fe University of Art and Design (SFUAD) is a for-profit, accredited four-year university located in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The university built from the College of Santa Fe which was a Catholic facility founded as St. Michael's College in 1859, and renamed The College of Santa Fe in 1966.  After financial difficulties in 2009, the campus was purchased by the City of Santa Fe, the State of New Mexico, and Laureate Education, and reopened with a narrowed focus on the film, theater, and other arts.  The school is currently secular, and as of 2017, reports having 950 students.  According to the U.S. Department of Education, as of 2017 the overall graduation rate is 22%.  The university is scheduled to close in May 2018.
  Title: Los Cerrillos, New Mexico
  Passage: Los Cerrillos is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States.  It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area.  The population was 229 at the 2000 census.  Accessible from State Highway 14 or "The Turquoise Trail," Cerrillos is on the road from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, closer to Santa Fe.  There are several shops and galleries, a Post Office, and the Cerrillos Hills State Park, which has 5 miles of hiking trails.  The Cerrillos Turquoise Mining Museum contains hundreds of artifacts from the American Old West and the Cerrillos Mining District.  It also displays cardboard cutouts of characters from the film "Young Guns" and information on other movies which were filmed in and around Cerrillos.  This is a good place to view Cerrillos Turquoise from the Brown's turquoise claim, The Little Chalchihuitl.
  Title: Watrous (La Junta)
  Passage: Watrous, also named La Junta, is a National Historic Landmark District near Watrous, New Mexico.  It encompasses the historic junction point of the two major branches of the Santa Fe Trail, a major 19th-century frontier settlement route between St. Louis, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico.  La Junta, marked this junction point, as well as the first major indications of civilization before westbound travelers reached Santa Fe.  The district includes a large area west of the modern community of Watrous, encompassing the confluence of the Mora and Sapello Rivers.  Surviving buildings include the houses of early ranchers, as well as a stagecoach mailstop and inn.  The district was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963.
  Title: Boone's Lick Trail
  Passage: The Boone's Lick Trail, or Boonslick Road was a 19th-century transportation route from eastern to western Missouri in the United States.  Running north of and roughly parallel to the Missouri River the trail began in the river port of St. Charles.  The trail played a major role in the westward expansion of the United States and the development of Missouri's statehood.  The trail's eventual terminus at Franklin was the start of the better-known Santa Fe Trail.  First traced by the sons of Daniel Boone, the path originally ended at a salt lick in Howard County used by the pair to manufacture salt.  Today the lick is maintained as Boone's Lick State Historic Site.
  Title: William Becknell
  Passage: William Becknell (1787 or 1788 – April 30, 1865) was an American soldier, politician, and freight operator who is credited with opening the Santa Fe Trail in 1821, which became an early major transportation route through central North America that connected Independence, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico.  It served as a vital commercial highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880.  Becknell had used long-established trails made by Native Americans and Spanish and French colonial explorers and traders for years before his trip.
  Title: U.S. Route 56
  Passage: U.S. Route 56 (US 56) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 640 mi in the Midwestern United States.  The highway's eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 71 in Kansas City, Missouri.  Its western terminus is at Interstate 25 Business in Springer, New Mexico.  Much of it follows the Santa Fe Trail.
  Title: New Mexico State Road 599
  Passage: New Mexico Route 599 is a state highway located entirely within Santa Fe County in New Mexico.  It is known as the Veterans Memorial Highway and the Santa Fe Relief Route; both names are used on road signs.  The latter name alludes to the highway's original purpose of bypassing the urbanized areas of Santa Fe and thereby relieving it from shipments of hazardous waste.  It passes through less densely developed terrain in and around the northwestern boundary of the municipality.  This expressway's total length is approximately 14 mi .  The speed limits on it range from 45 to .
citations: U.S. Route 56 Santa Fe Trail