New Mexico Route 57

[Jim]

I'm drafting New Mexico state routes for the CHM project and have run into a question about the routing of state route 57 near Chaco Culture NHP.  Its routing according to the NMDOT state route log:

NM 57 (CHACO CANYON ROAD), FROM JUNCTION US 550 (OLD NM 44) AT THE BLANCO TRADING POST, SOUTHWARD, VIA CHACO CANYON NATL. PARK, TO JCT NAVAJO ROAD 14 AT THE SAN JUAN/MCKINLEY COUNTY LINE.

It seems clear from NPS maps (http://www.nps.gov/common/commonspot/customcf/apps/maps/showmap.cfm?alphacode=chcu&parkname=Chaco%20Culture) and the directions given in various places to Chaco Culture NHP that Route 57 does not really enter the park from the north and it definitely does not connect through to the main park loop road.  I'm guessing it really ends at CR 7980 at http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=36.100643&lon=-107.955995.

But then it appears to exist again for the short segment south of the park to the county line.  And at least some map sources also label part of the main road in the park as NM 57.

Does anyone have any definitive sources or first-hand accounts about the existence of this route in and near the park?

[xonhulu]

I can tell you from having visited Chaco that there is definitely no longer a connection between NM 57 and the park loop road from the north.  The old road has been turned into a trail for at least part of its length, and the official park maps verify the road is gone.  I'm equally sure NM 57 is signed off its junction with US 550, but I don't know how far that road extends before it ends.

However, NM 57 does still enter the park from the south, and it is signed southbound right after you leave the park:



I think the "14" refers to a Navajo Nation route, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

[xonhulu]

I also want to add that I doubt the park road is part of NM 57, and it certainly isn't signed as NM 57.

[The High Plains Traveler]

I drove into Chaco Canyon from the south maybe eight years ago, and NM-57 was marked along with Indian Route 14 north from Indian Route 9. GSV http://goo.gl/maps/CA26a shows the odd sign I remember, a state route marker with a sharp curve chevron under it. As the official description below indicates, this is probably not accurate. When you exit the park to the north, you find yourself taking a couple of 7000-series San Juan County routes to U.S. 550, with no option for any other route. NM-57 does not access the park from U.S. 550; I suspect you encounter a locked gate at some point. Internal endpoints are not defined in the state route log, but I believe NM-57 may be the only broken route in the state. The log gives the route description as:
"NM 57 (CHACO CANYON ROAD), FROM JUNCTION US 550 (OLD NM 44) AT THE BLANCO TRADING POST, SOUTHWARD, VIA CHACO CANYON NATL. PARK, TO JCT NAVAJO ROAD 14 AT THE SAN JUAN/MCKINLEY COUNTY LINE"

...and the length as 27.64 miles. That county line is just south of the park, so even though there are remnant signs in the field, the road south of the park is mostly Indian Service route. The official route length would account for the distance from U.S. 550 to a dead end near the park and the short piece of road south of the park.