The Delta independent., 1923-09-28
WORK
UNDER WAY ON
BLACK MESA ROAD


BLACK MESA ROAD
The people of the Western Slope as
well as the people Of the Eastern
Slope and all other people interested
in early spring and late fall travel
across the mountains of Colorado will
be pleased to know that at last their
efforts to have a road built around
the point of Black Mesa and along the
rim of Black Canon are beginning to
bear fruit, which fact was evidenced
of Messrs. A. E. Palen and George F.
Helliso. These two gentlemen are in
the service of The U. 8. Bureau OF
Public Roads and their business in
Crawford last week was to go over
the proposed Black Mesa road for
the purpose Of selecting camp sites
for the surveying crew that moved
in on the II tn inst, to begin work.
This corps of surveyors consist OF IL
men and they will make the survey
from Crystal Creek to Currecanti
Creek. The State Highway Depart
ment will cooperate with this party
Of surveyors and will have their corps
of State Highway engineers make the
-veyy from Sap:2e-o .o Car.recanti
Creek and from Crystal Creek to an
intersection with the present Delta
HotchkisSCra d-Gunnison branch
of the Rainbow Route. The work by
the State Highway Department will
be under the supervision OF Major
I - II
Rene.
Each of the following engineers and
officials have gone over the proposed
Black Mesa road for the purpose Of
making reports to the various depart
ments represented by them: Major
John ]. Vandemoer, Messrs. Ed.
Cowden. George Toupain. and H. T.
Rene, all OF the State Highway De-
partment; Messrs. A E. Palen. L. A.
the u. 8. Bureau of Public Roads;
Messrs Fred D. Mendenhall, Theo
Krueger and Ben c. Heilman, Of the
U. s. Forest Road Department. Each
Of these gentlemen, after making a
thorough investigation of the pro-
posed location for the road, said that
it would afford later fall travel and
earlier spring travel; that it was a
feasible road proposition and that it
would serve the people in a practical
way for utility purposes.
Everyone who has been over the
proposed road says that for majestic
beauty and mountain grandeur the
scenery Is unsurpassed. For number
of miles the road will follow the
world famed Black Canon, from whose
dizzy heights you can see far below,
the silvery, restless Gunnison river
winding its way.
The estimated cost of the entire
survey is $4,000, a sum that surely
would not be spent, were it not for
the fact that all the preliminary in
vestigations showed the proposed
road to be practical proposition.
II all the early pioneers, those
brave men and women. who first
came across the Black Mesa, from
whose crest they first glimpsed the
fertile valleys in which they were
to make their future homes-where
they and their children and those who
WcI0 " AOllOW IA thCA AOOSotOPop
were to work. toll and spend their
lives could know Of the beginning of
the survey, NO doubt all those old
pioneers would say, "Our dreams are
coming true"
Those pioneers who first travelled
into the Western Slope across Black
Mesa saw the wonderful opportunity
offered by the rift through the mount
aims, around this point Of Black Mesa.
which would have southern expos
ure and be from 800 to 1000 feet
lower than any other road that could
be constructed through the mount
aims. Each Of these pioneer men and
women, as we'll as all who have fol-
lowed in their footsteps. have had
dreams OF the day when road would
be built around the point of the Black
Mesa and It's but natural that now.
after many years OF waiting. the first
steps in the construction OF this long
dreamed OF road are about to be taken.
It brings a feeling of rejoicing to
each Of those who are living and a
wish from all that the pioneers who
have passed away could be with US
now to see their dreams being rea-
lized.
Much credit for the present favor.
able status for the construction OF the
Black Mesa road 10 due the various
officials OF the State Highway Depart |
ment, the U. 8. Forest Service, the |
q. 8. Bureau OF Public Roads. the |
County Commissioners of Gunnison.
Delta and Montrose counties who