Historical Marker
A.M. Curley Traynor Memorial Highway
Mule Creek, Grant County · New Mexico
The gravel the panel describes lasted longest on the Arizona side. New Mexico laid out State Road 78 on its present line in the mid-1930s, but Arizona did not make its section a state route until February 17, 1959, and kept it gravel until 1961; the old unpaved road there ran through a tunnel blasted in the rock, whose remains still show. The whole drive from Three Way, Arizona, to US-180 runs about 34 miles. New Mexico's 1988 renumbering cut NM-78 back to US-180 east of Mule Creek.
What the plaque says
Official Scenic Historic Marker A.M. Curley Traynor Memorial Highway N.M. state Road 78 appeared on maps before 1927, but remained a gravel highway in several sections in Arizona and New Mexico through the 1960s. By 1971, all but one stretch near the border had been paved. Area rancher Curley Traynor was instrumental in having a paved road connect Arizona and New Mexico, and in 1974 it was dedicated as the A.M. Curley Traynor Memorial Highway.
Where it stands
33.10729, -109.04681 · Directions
More markers nearby
- The Catwalk — 18 mi
- Mogollon — 20 mi