The Department of the Interior today announced award of a $963,560 contract for construction of 8.1-miles of roadway on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona from Marsh Pass, approximately 58 miles northeast of Tuba City, running northeasterly towards Kayenta.
This section of road is part of Navajo Route 1, which was authorized by the Anderson-Udall legislation of 1959.
Completion of this addition to the Indian Bureau's extensive road construction program on the Reservation will provide a total of approximately 78 miles of paved highway from U. S. 89 north of Flagstaff, extending northeast through Tuba City toward Kayenta.
Construction of Navajo Route 1 has aroused wide interest because of the rapid development of the Four Corners oil field to the northeast and the fact that the northern part of the Reservation and State of Arizona previously had no improved highway. When complete, this route will be a short-cut from southwestern Colorado to the Grand Canyon, the West Coast and the entire northern part of the Navajo Reservation.
H. E. Lowdermilk Company of Englewood, Colorado, was the successful bidder. Six other bids were submitted, ranging to a high of $1,179,945.05.
