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Show v woPok fes -Mne$ m Needles Mmm ffimid The National Park Service Ser-vice announced Wednesday Wednes-day it is taking initial steps to construct the Squaw Flat Confluence Overlook Road in Can-yonlands Can-yonlands National Park in Southeastern Utah. J. Leonard Volz, Director Dir-ector of the Service's Midwest Region, said the Park Service has approved approv-ed the final plans for the proposed 9.7 mile road in the Needles District of the park. The required requir-ed thirty day waiting period per-iod following filing of the environmental impact statement has passed, Volz said, and the Federal Fed-eral Highway Administration Adminis-tration will advertise for bids on a segment of the road. Volz identified the project as about a 2-12 mile portion of the proposed pro-posed road extending from Squaw Flat to the Little Spring Canyon Bridge. Volz estimated that construction con-struction could begin by late Janqary or early February which allows for bid advertisement by the FHWA sometime early ear-ly this month, with bids to be opened the first part of January. Visitors are often disappointed, dis-appointed, Mr. Volz said when they find they car only get to the fringes of the park. If they wish to get deeper into the park, they must go tc nearby towns to hire z four-wheel drive vehicle. vehic-le. The proposed road, when completed to the Confluence Con-fluence Overlook, will allow al-low visitors access by passenger car to a portion por-tion of the Needles District Dis-trict of the park. Here they can view the massive mas-sive Wingate Cliffs of the Island in the Sky and Dead Horse Point State Park. The road has been studied, stu-died, designed, and under consideration for more than seven years, and the Cngrss.7 has appropriated appropriat-ed funds for the first stages of construction, Volz said. "Nothing has been revealed that woulc preclude our going aheac with construction as scheduled. We intend tc retain the wilderness character of Canyonlands National Park and at the same time open one smal section of the park tc universal public enjoyment." |