Navajo times. [volume], March 01, 1961, Page PAGE 7, Image 7

About Navajo times. [volume] (Window Rock, Ariz.) 1960-1984

Image provided by: Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records; Phoenix, AZ

                
Road Research Aids M*p tor ast
.' _.': . BERk _,y- •.
Motorists who pay twice
for maintenance of public roads,
first for taxes to repair the
roads and second for the delays
and inconvenience while the
roads are out of service may
coon be in for a break. For in
more than 50 specific locations
across the country, local and
state highway and paving spe
cialists have put down and are
now testing a new type of pave
ment that promises to extend
pavement life and reduce de
terioration resulting from traf
fic and weather.
The new pavement consists
of conventional asphalt paving
mixtures, with the addition of
from 2 to 3% of asbestos
fibers. According to the re
sults of an intensive and ex
tended laboratory and field
testing program conducted by
the Johns - Manville Research
Center, adding such small quan
tities -of asbestos fiber to
asphalt paving, may double
serviceable road life. It is also
possible that the paving thick
ness can be considerably re
duced and still give an improv
ed service compared with a
thicker pavement of conven
tional asphalt mix, thereby ef
fecting no increase in overall
cost.
Proof of the wearing qualities
of asbestos-asphalt mixes is
given by numerous such pave
ments laid during the 1920’5.
New Navajo Roads to Give
U. S. Tourists New Words
Tourists looking for something
new under the American sun may
be intrigued by names like Ha’
Ho’ No’ Geh Canyon, Skeleton
Mesa, or perhaps Dzilidushzhinih
Peak.
Right now they’re within range
of only the resolute traveler and
the Navajo Indians who live in
the rich but isolated Four Corners
area. The reservation lies mainly
in Arizona but extends into New
Mexico and Utah.
The day is coming, however,
when the Indian lands can be
reached easily and the Navajo will
find himself cast as an innkeeper
and service station operator.
Work began in 1958 to pi ovide
two highways across Navajoland
and, if appropriations are avail
able, the system should be ready
for easy travel in the summer of
1963.
Besides the potential tourist bus.
iness. the roads will provide ac
cess to the booming Four Corners
area.
Navajo Route -3 crosses the res
ervation from east to west from
U. S. 666 about seven miles north
Ol Gallup, N.M., to Tuba City,
Arizona.
The Department of the Interior
nays this route is entiiely paved
but still needs widening, mat sur
facing and reconstruction of some
bridges.
Route 3 traverses the southern
half of the reservation and passes
through forests, deep canyons,
rare metals mines and ancient
ruins.
Both routes will provide access
to tribal ruins, prehistoric cliff
dwellings and will afford an op
portunity to see all facets of res
ervation life.
Navajo Route 1 crosses ihe
northern part of the reservation
from northeast to southwest from
UJS. «6e6 at Stopcock, N.M., near
From This THROUGH RESEARCH To This
_ •
the Four Corners, through Denne
hotso, Kayenta, Cow Springs, Cow
Springs and Tonalea to intersect
Route 3 at Tuba City.
Work is under way from both
ends. From the east 38 miles is
now paved and complete. During
the current fiscal year, funds
are programmed and plans being
completed for an additional 25
miles, which will carry construct
ion westward to the Chinle Wash
Bridge.
From the west end, one section
of nine miles from Tuba City east
is complete and work is being
pushed on several other sections.
When the program began there
were no improved roads. Travel
meant fighting through gooey clay
flats, deep loose sand dunes and
rough solid rock ledges. The por
tions now unimproved are still in
this condition.
A road building program push
ed through Congress by Sen. Clin
ton P. Anderson, D-N.M. and Stew
art Udall, former Arizona con
gressman who is now secretary
Many of these are still in satis
factory service, in spite of the
fact that forty years ago road
engineers were not concerned
with today’s heavyweight
trucks and automobiles.
Johns - Manville also reports
that abestos - asphalt is being
tested for use in problem pave
ments, such as air strips util
ized by jet airplanes, or heavily
travelled access roads to super
highways, and at bus stops
where extremely heavy wheel
loads and the effects of diesel
exhausts tend to ruin asphalt
paving in short order. As a
result of this program, the use
Os asbestos-asphalt has been
specified in New York City for
resurfacing pavements over
high-pressure steam lines.
Both laboratory and highway
tests have demonstrated that
the cost of adding abestos fiber
to asphalt paving mixes is
slight, compared to the savings
expected. A total of 5.5 billion
dollars was spent on road
construction and 2.469 billion
dollars on road maintenance
during 1960 alone.
Johns - Manville has not
merely done the research and
then left it to local highway
engineers to feel their way
along in determining the best
approach to a local test pro
gram. J-M also offers the serv
ices of its asbestos research
and angineering staffs to local,
Indian Center
Flag Ceremony
The Begay-Hood chapter oi Vet
erans ©t Foreign Wars will pre-i
sent a 50-star flag to the Gallup '
Indian Community Center in a
Sunday night ceremony.
The flag will be raised on a
tiagpoie given by the Wingate Ord
nance Depot as a public service.
The Bag presentation will gel un
derway at 5:30 p.m., followed fey
the regular monthly Navajo night
supper.
The program will feature a
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■ ' v•• : ./> “ 3
' '.••• 1
I
kg >. 1
state, and municipal road of
ficials and highway engineers
without charge. To date these
specialists have assisted in the
design and laying of asbestos
asphalt test strips in every part
of the country.
A number of paving com
panies have already started to
use asbestos-asphalt pavements.
Recent commercial applications
include several city streets in
New York City, six acres of
recreational fields at the Air
Force Academy in Colorado
Springs, Colorado, heavy equip
ment yards in Charleston, West
Virginia, a roof parking deck
in Brookline, Massachusetts,
and many others.
Interest in the potentialities
of asbestos-asphalt pavement is
spreading. Requests for techni
cal information have been re
ceived by Johns-Manville from
eight foreign countries includ
ing Indonesia, Peru, Japan, and
the East Africa area. The
Soviet Union has used short
asbestos fiber in cold asphalt
pavement for ten years with
excellent performance re
ported to date.
With results coming in from
such a large nymtoer of closely
controlled tests, it appears that
in the near future the Ameri
can motorist will be reaping
the benefits of this present-day
highway research aimed at im
proving paving materials.
of interior is a big factor in get
ting the reservation opened to
easy tourist travel.
Surveys made in 1946 showed
some 2.500 vehicles a day could
be expected if Route 1 were built.
The completion of the route also
will provide access for the local
Navajos t© Schools, medical fac
ilities and to markets for their
livestock and other produce out- i
side the reservation.
In many areas the horse-diawn
wagon is being replaced by pick
up trucks and cars.
Another road, Route 8, has been
built with funds provided in the
regular road program from Route
3 west to Ganado. to Chinle and
Many Farms in the center, of the
reservation.
When improved to the satis
faction of the state of Arizona.
Routes 1 and 3 will be maintained
by the state as state roads.
Even now the Navajos are plan
ning for a booming tourist indus
try with proposed motels and all
the necessities of a tourist’s life.
“Trip to Far-ofl East Africa”, by
Amoz Gibson, who will give am
illustrated report on his visit 1
there. Colored slide pictures will)
be shown.
Gibson, principal - teacher ati
Bread Springs Bureau ol Indian
Affairs school south of Galiup, re
turned from his trip last month. ,
The flag was purchased by, the |
Fort Wingate VFW post No. 86. (
Ernest C. Becenti will be in charge I
of the ceremony. The program is j
open to the public.
MARCH, 1961 THE NAVAJO TIMES
Udall Seeks
New Policy
WASHINGTON lnterior Sec
retary Stewart L. Udall told the j
House Interior Committee this
past week that he is tired of a
“trickle-down policy” by tile gov-;
eminent toward its Indian citizens.;
Udall made his sentiments
known in his first meeting with
the House Interior Committee. At
the meeting he introduced all of
the members of his top official
family, including Assistant Inter
ior Secretary John Kelly of New
Mexico. Kelly will be in charge
of mining and petroleum pro
grams.
“With regard to the field of our
Indian people and their problems,
we are giving very special atten
tion to this problem,” Udall, stat
ed. “There has probably been
more said and written and more
studying done about the American
Indian . . .than any other problem.
It has been studied and restudied,
yet we all know, those of us who
have Indian people in our Con
gressional Districts, that when we
get down to the Indian reserva
tion level, we find altogether too
often that the mone yand the man-!
power and the know-how has not |
trickled down far enough <so> that
we can really get the job done that
all of us would like to see done,”
Udall told the Committee.
“We are undertaking and I have i
set up a special advisory board
to serve in advising and counsel- 1
ing on a day to day basis with (
the Secretary. It is a study j
group which is going to study j
both the leorganization of the Bu- j
reau itself from top to bottom,
and make recommendations con
cerning new policy.
“We already have some tenta
tive matters that we will be ready
with shortly to send up to you
1961
FORDS
CARS
AND
PICKUPS
BABBITT
MOTORS
FLAGSTAFF,
ARIZONA
on poic;\ \Y 2 ing that this
will pit gniticant re
sults. . l. vation level,
Udall said The ma n effoit will
be to see that the money allocated
for Indians actually goes to the
Indians themselves, he said.
Udall told the committee that
his Indian advisory committee “Is
headed by an outstanding Ameri
can. an outstanding Indian." He
is W. W. Keeler, vice president
of the Phillips Petroleum Com
pany.
“When 1 tried to got him te
be Indian Commissioner, but he
would not take the job,’’ Udall
stated, “we asked the company
to lean him to us for 90 days,
and they agreed to do so, and he
is serving without compensation.
We ha\e a line team working un
der him. We are working strenu
ously to see if we can make BIA
function more effectively, to use ■
its manpower and to use the ap
propriations for this Department
so that we can hasten the day
when our Indian people will take
their rightful place in our society.’*
Udall fold the Committee.
Rep. Ed Edmondson, D-Okla.,
who proudly claims Keller as his
consistuent, told Udall that “in
Oklahoma Bill Keeler is known
widely as the principal chief of
the Cherokee Indian Tribe. Chief
Keeler.”
Udall replied, “Yes. I have wat
ched him operate since I have the
oil industry in my office most of
the day now these days. And I
have made him into an advisor
on oil matters too, on the side,
and he can hold his own in any
company, and we are delighted
to have him I am going to try te
entice him into staying with us
permanently,” said Udall. “but I
am afraid 1 can’t do that.”
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