Rough way to go
Thoreau residents plead for help — roads are a mess

A truck travels down County Road 27 north of Coolidge on Saturday afternoon. Edmund Yazzie, a council delegate from Thoreau, says the road needs to be paved. [Photo by Brian Leddy/Independent]

By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

A road sign marks the route of County Road 27. [Photo by Brian Leddy/Independent]

THOREAU — With the onslaught of winter weather last month in the area causing the Navajo Nation to declare an emergency, the many unpaved roads on Navajo created havoc for residents and emergency situations for those who live in the most remote areas of the reservation.

For the Thoreau chapter, getting a road paved that serves hundreds of community members has become even more important as the effects of the winter weather are felt.

For years, the chapter has been advocating for the paving of County Road 27 located west of the community and north of Interstate 40.

Navajo Nation Council Delegate Edmund Yazzie said that between 200 and 500 individuals live in the area served by the road.

“I know there’s a lot of roads but this is a main one,” Yazzie said. He added that a wash crosses the road and sometimes it gets washed out, which blocks off the east side of the road.

During the snowstorm, five to six vehicles were stuck on the road and even the county grader got stuck, Yazzie said.

“It takes its toll on the vehicles,” he said.

A former police officer, Yazzie said that he often traveled the unpaved road while he was on duty.

Not only is the road important for public safety but it is also a school bus route. The senior center sends its vans through there as well. People commuting to work and school routinely use the road.

In the past, getting funding for that road was neglected but now there has been positive response from the county, the tribe and state legislators.

“I think it was an attention-getter when community members went before McKinley County commissioners asking for support,” Yazzie said.

Due to the efforts of the community, which included gathering petitions and passing resolutions at the chapter level, the road is now on the list of top priorities for the county.

County Attorney Douglas Decker said that getting the funding for improvements to County Road 27 is one of the top five priorities for the county.

“County Road 27 is on our priority list,” Decker said.

He added that the county is working to get funding and trying to obtain the proper rights of way to improve the road at the same time. He said that the county possesses some of the rights of way but has to work with the tribe and private land owners to obtain the rights of way for other sections of the road.

“We keep seeking funding for that and as we get funding we will improve County Road 27,” Decker said.

Because county government is financed largely through property tax and McKinley County is comprised of nearly 80 percent tribal land which is nontaxable, the county government has to be resourceful.

On the county’s Web site, county manager Tom Trujillo states, “We live in one of the poorest counties in the state.”

The county maintains almost 600 miles of road and only about 100 miles are paved or chip-sealed.

“Eventually we want most of our county roads paved,” Decker said.

He said that the county submitted its priority list, including County Road 27, to the state Legislature, which is currently in session, and is waiting to hear if the projects received funding.

To gravel a road with a 4-inch base in McKinley County costs about $80,000 a mile, he said. To pave the road, the county estimates the cost at $100,000 to $120,000 per mile. County Road 27 has at least five miles of unpaved road.

Decker said there are other funding sources that the county is looking into, including the Navajo Nation’s Fuel Excise Tax.

Funding in the amount of $100,000 for County Road 27 is also part of Sen. Lynda Lovejoy’s capital projects requests.

“If we get a little bit, we stock that and then we get some more until we’re able to make some improvements,” Decker said.

Having the road paved would be an asset to the community, Yazzie said.

“It’s a nice road. It’s a pretty sight because of the red rocks we have,” he said.