11.15.07: Public Meeting on Controversial Proposal to Pave Chaco Canyon Entrance Road

Great Kiva at Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon

A presentation and public comments session regarding the future of the main entrance road to Chaco Culture National Historical Park in Northwest New Mexico will be held on November 15, 2007 at the New Mexico Department of Transportation, 7500 Pan American Freeway NE in Albuquerque (map). An open house begins at 6:00 PM with the presentation at 6:30 PM, followed by a comment session at 7:00 PM. The meeting is jointly hosted by the Federal Highway Administration, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and San Juan County.

The options for improving the unpaved portion of San Juan County Road 7950 will be explained -- a controversial proposal with serious consequences for preserving the fragile integrity of the currently isolated park. Up until now, the main access road was left deliberately unpaved to discourage heavy traffic, large tour buses and large RVs from bringing in increased crowds that might compromise the park's extensive ruins and artifacts -- which have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

URS Corporation and Taschek Environmental Consulting (TEC) are currently preparing the design and environmental analysis for the proposed road project on behalf of San Juan County. If you can't attend the meeting, you can contact John Taschek at TEC at 505-821-4700, email your comments on the proposed paving to taschek@aol.com or mail them to John Taschek, 8901 Adams NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113.

More resources:

• Chaco Canyon (wikipedia)
• Not paving Chaco road preserves area's value, Albuquerque Tribune editorial
• Paving road to Chaco fraught with pitfalls, Albuquerque Tribune
• Stop the Chaco Road, Chaco Alliance
• Protect Chaco Canyon Blog
• San Juan Citizen's Alliance