Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson today announced that a $3 million contract has been let to Nielson's, Inc. of Dolores, Colo. for construction of nearly 15.5 miles of bituminous paved highway beginning near Whitehorse, N. Mex., and extending north and east to, Pueblo Pintado, N. Mex.
This project is one of the last of a number of similar ones that will lead to improved transportation across the eastern part of the Navajo Reservation to State Road 44 at Cuba, N. Mex.,” Thompson said. “Roads are the lifeline of commerce, provide access to schools, bring about a viable society. So we are happy to announce that a dirt road that has too long served Indian people and visitors over Indian land will be replaced by an all-weather highway.”
He pointed out that projects such as this will help Indian reservations catch up with the rest of the country. No local roads were built on Indian reservations from 1900 to 1935, he pointed out, at a time when the rest of the country was being knit together through a paved roads system.
