A
JOINT MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO CHANGE THE NUMERIC DESIGNATION OF UNITED STATES
ROUTE 666 BEGINNING IN GALLUP, NEW MEXICO.
WHEREAS, United States route
666 begins in Gallup, New Mexico, at the old United States route 66 and runs
north through Shiprock and into Colorado and terminates at United States route
191 in Utah; and
WHEREAS, United States route
666 runs through very sparsely populated areas of New Mexico and through more
than one hundred miles of the Navajo Nation; and
WHEREAS, the long stretch of
two-lane road has a history of being the site of many accidents and, although
the rate of accidents has decreased due to road improvements, it is still a
dangerous stretch of highway; and
WHEREAS, people living near the
road already live under the cloud of opprobrium created by having a road that
many believe is cursed running near their homes and through their homeland; and
WHEREAS, the number
"666" carries the stigma of being the mark of the beast, the mark of
the devil, which was described in the book of revelations in the Bible; and
WHEREAS, there are people who
refuse to travel the road, not because of the issue of safety, but because of
the fear that the devil controls events along United States route 666; and
WHEREAS, the economy in the
area is greatly depressed when compared with many parts of the United States,
and the infamy brought by the inopportune naming of the road will only make
development in the area more difficult;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the United States department
of transportation be requested to assign United States route 666 a new numeric
designation as quickly as possible; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
changing the numeric designation of United States route 666 would provide an
added degree of comfort for those using the road; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
copies of this memorial be transmitted to the United States secretary of
transportation, the president of the Navajo Nation, the speaker of the Navajo
Nation council, the secretary of highway and transportation and the engineer of
district 6 of the state highway and transportation department.