Construction is expected to begin in 2003. The next level of highway design The guidelines for the reconstruction of Highway 93 represent an unprecedented level of environmental protection in road design and a new alignment of state and tribal interests. The agreement also clears the way for release of federal highway funds for the project. The transportation department s goals include safety and a higher level of service for Highway 93, which had developed a bad accident record. But tribal goals were much broader.
Traditions teach that land, wildlife and people are all deeply connected.
A highway designed only to connect points on a map can sever some of the most important connections on the land, impacting the lives of many generations who live there. A highway is not just a highway. Decisions about the highway are decisions about the land, made for seven generations of people that belong to it. The tribes want measures to protect their threatened culture, their sensitive environment and their breathtaking scenery. The original plan to widen the entire roadway to four lanes threatened to bring more suburban settlement from the urban areas to the south and to sever ancient ecosystems forever.