User:MatthewAnderson707/sandbox/Unfinished articles on hold

This is where I store unfinished articles from my sandbox I don't plan on resuming anytime soon.

Background in New Mexico
In New Mexico, the history of US 64 date back to the frontier days. In 1912, the New Mexico State Highway System was formed. The route between Shiprock and the Arizona border didn't exist yet. Likewise, the highway between Taos and Tierra Amarilla wasn't constructed yet either, nor did the highway heading northeast out of Clayton into Oklahoma. The route between Clayton and Raton was part of New Mexico State Road 37 (NM 37). The route between Cimarron and Raton was served by NM 21 while NM 33 ran between Cimarron and Taos. The route from Tierra Amarilla to Monero was designated NM 36. Lastly, the route between Blanco was designated as NM 35 and NM 32.

When originally designated on November 11, 1926, U.S. Route 64 (US 64) had its western terminus at US 385 in Capulin, New Mexico. In 1933, US 64 had been extended to end at US 85 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, replacing all of the previously designated US 485 between Raton and Santa Fe, through Taos. On November 11, 1972, US 64 was truncated from Santa Fe to Taos, then extended west through Tres Piedras, Brazos, Monero and Bloomfield to US 550 in Farmington. The new routing replaced all of New Mexico State Road 111 (NM 111) and NM 553 between Taos and Tierra Amarilla. US 64 now shared a concurrency with US 84 between Tierra Amarilla and a highway junction 4 mi east of Monero. US 64 then replaced all of NM 17 between US 84 and US 550 in Farmington. On December 2, 1988, or sometime after that date, US 64 was further extended over Arizona State Route 504 and New Mexico State Road 504 to a junction with US 160 in Teec Nos Pos, Arizona near Four Corners. Today, the western terminus of US 64 remains at Teec Nos Pos.

Historic route components
Below is a list of highway and road segments that comprise the route of Historic US 80.

U.S. Route 70 (1926-1932)
The background of US 180 traces back to the construction of Beale's Wagon Road during the winter of 1857 and 1858. Though constructed for military purposes, the road also served as an important immigration route. Following the construction of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway through northern Arizona in 1883, Beale's Wagon Road temporarily lost its prominence as a primary route for travelers. In 1913, the basic route of Beale's Wagon Road became part of the National Old Trails Road auto trail. The National Old Trails Road was maintained and promoted by a private booster organization, which aimed to establish a dedicated automobile highway across the United States. The easternmost section of the National Old Trails Road passed through the towns of Holbrook, St. Johns and Springerville before entering New Mexico bound for Albuquerque. Further development occurred when the first dedicated state highway system in Arizona was established in 1914. The National Old Trails Road between California and New Mexico was added to the new system as the "Santa Fe Highway" and was now maintained by the Office of the State Engineer. Passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 by the United States Congress allowed federal funding to be allocated to improving and constructing Arizona's state highways. The newfound federal funding also allowed the state to construct a new alignment of the National Old Trails Road through Lupton to New Mexico. The older Holbrook-Springerville alignment of the National Old Trails Highway became the alternate route to Albuquerque. Changes to the state highway system brought on by the addition of federal funding also lead to the reorganization of the state highway system. The Santa Fe Highway was split into several smaller highways, with the older route from Holbrook to New Mexico becoming the "Holbrook-Springerville-New Mexico State Line Highway".

On November 11, 1926, the Holbrook-Springerville-New Mexico State Line Highway was officially designated by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) as the western most section of U.S. Route 70 (US 70). The remainder of the National Old Trails Road, including the Lupton alignment, was designated as the Arizona segment of US 66. Nationally, US 66 ran between Los Angeles and Chicago, while US 70 began at US 66 in Holbrook and ended in Beaufort, North Carolina at the Atlantic Ocean. The Arizona section of the newly designated US 70 measured 107.5 mi long from US 66 to the New Mexico state line. At first, the US 70 designation in Arizona was only made official by AASHO. It wasn't until September 9, 1927, when the Arizona State Highway System was reorganized into a system of numbered highways that US 70 and the other U.S. Highways were recognized by the state of Arizona. The reorganization had also placed US 70 under the management of the newly formed Arizona State Highway Department, abolishing the Office of the State Engineer. Despite the new designation however, US 70 was still a very primitive road. None of the route was paved and only half of it was graded. Small improvements were made to the highway between 1928 and 1929, which mostly included grading the most basic sections of the highway.

By 1930, a grass roots effort had been started by multiple towns in Oklahoma to extend U.S. Route 60 (US 60) to the west coast. Up to this point, US 60 only ran between Virginia Beach, Virginia and Springfield, Missouri. The Arizona State Highway Department supported the call for an extension, proposing part of the extension occur between Clovis, New Mexico and Springerville. This proposed extension would replace US 70 with US 60 from Clovis to Springerville. On June 8, 1931, AASHO approved the westward extension of US 60, moving the western terminus of the highway to Los Angeles, retiring the US 70 designation between Holbrook and Clovis. This meant US 70 no longer existed within Arizona. AASHO decided to give US 70 a new route over what had been US 366 through Alamagordo, New Mexico to a new end point at US 80 in El Paso, Texas. The section of US 70 not replaced by US 60 between Holbrook and Springerville was designated a new highway, becoming US 260. Today, the original Holbrook to Springerville Route is still part of US 60 as well as US 180, Arizona State Route 180A (SR 180A), SR 61 and US 191.