PIPE SPRING Cultures at a Crossroads: An Administrative History

Area Roads

State Highway 389 (the Hurricane-Fredonia road) was still in need of completion in 1964. The portion west of Pipe Spring to Colorado City was still just a dirt road of sand, gravel, and clay. The paved part of the road east of the monument to Fredonia was in frequent need of repair as heavy truck traffic broke up the road's chipped and sealed surface faster than road crews could patch it. The four-mile road to Moccasin off of State Highway 389 was dirt. A bid for rerouting three miles of surfaced road and three bridges along State Highway 389 was rejected as too high in October 1964. State traffic counters were installed at the east and west entrances to the monument that December while state surveyors restaked the reroute of State Highway 389 west of the monument. Over the winter of 1964-1965, an archeological crew began working along the proposed right-of-way of the reroute. David Acton of the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff directed the survey crew, mostly Kaibab Paiute from the reservation. By February 1965 the crew had unearthed several pithouses of Pueblo I-II time period as well as a storage cist and burial. Gwinn Vivian and Richard Sense of the University of Arizona directed additional reconnaissance survey work along the road route in June; Mr. and Mrs. William Wade of the Museum of Northern Arizona directed the work during October and November. The latter's work crew camped at Pipe Spring while work was undertaken. Superintendent Oberhansley viewed the archeological activity as one that would yield information useful to Pipe Spring National Monument's interpretive program as it expanded to include the Native American context.

In addition to poor road conditions, an absence of directional signage along State Highway 389 created confusion for visitors. Many visitors left the monument heading west on the dirt road then returned to Pipe Spring to ask if they were on the road to Hurricane. At the Park Service's request in January 1964, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) posted new directional signage along the road.

On February 19, 1965, a contract was awarded to Brown Construction Company of Phoenix to construct three miles of road west of Fredonia and to build three bridges. Construction began by ADOT road crews on March 17 on the new road west of Pipe Spring. The job foreman inquired about the use of local water to compact earth fills and the Tribe agreed to furnish water from their reservoir just outside the monument (the "Indian pond") at a cost to the contractor of 25 cents per thousand gallons. Construction of the monument bypass section of the road began in November; at that time it was expected to be completed in July 1966. On October 23, 1965, ADOT opened bids for the building of State Highway 389 from Fredonia to 1.1 miles west of the monument, and Stout Construction Company of Las Vegas was awarded the contract. On May 5, 1966, another contract was awarded to Wells Stewart of Las Vegas for construction work on the road west of Pipe Spring.

Bozarth reported that State Highway 389 from Fredonia to Pipe Spring was "sub-surfaced" by November 1966, ready for an application of hot mix surfacing. About this time Mohave County road officials were in contact with the BIA to discuss needed improvements to the four-mile road leading to Kaibab Village and Moccasin. By August 1966 a contract had been awarded for the surfacing of the road from Fredonia to 1.5 miles west of Pipe Spring. The base coat surface was applied in the fall and the seal coat the following spring of 1967. Roadwork was suspended over the winter of 1966-1967 due to weather. Heavy trucks were already using the base-coated highway, however.

As mentioned in the "Monument Administration" section, State Highway 389 was opened to the public on May 27, 1967. The formal dedication of the road took place on August 5, 1967. The unpaved road to Moccasin from State Highway 389 still made area travel difficult at times. During and after heavy snowfalls in 1968, it was impassible much of the time. In late August 1969, construction began on a new road to Kaibab Village and Moccasin. Funded by the BIA, the road construction contract was awarded to Nielsons Inc. of Cortez, Colorado. Construction was completed by late spring of 1970.