Farmington Daily Times Plan to pave dirt road to ancient canyon draws mixed reviews

The highway bill that President Bush recently signed — $286 billion in spending — contains $800,000 to smooth the ride on the recommended route into Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

San Juan County, which owns the road, plans to apply chip seal — layers of oil and crushed rock chips — to 13 miles of dirt.

With five miles already done, and three more previously scheduled for next spring, the entire 21 miles connecting major artery U.S. 550 and Chaco could be paved within a couple of years. …

The park, in northwestern New Mexico, gets about 80,000 people annually, and chief of interpretation Russ Bodnar says opinions about the road are evenly split.

“Some of them are just absolutely appalled that the access to a national park could be so horrible. Other folks walk in and tell us that they realize it makes Chaco a special place,” he said.
Park officials are taking no position on the paving, since it’s San Juan County’s road. Nor have they estimated its impact on visitation.

Can’t we spend a bit of that $800,000 on some guestimates? mjh