Route from Gallup to Silverton

[knorton]

HI, i will be traveling from Phoenix area to Silverton.

I'm going to take the I-40 route instead of 89A route out of Flagstaff because of active fires in Flagstaff.

my question is mostly around the Gallup to Silverton Route.

google maps is suggesting the following route.

491 north bypass shiprock by going on Indian service route 5 over to 371 up to Farmington and then again north out of Farmington on 170,140,141 until reaching 550 in Durango up to Silverton.

is this route a bad idea? would I be better off going 491 to Cortez and across on 160 to Durango?

thanks for any tips on this stretch between Gallup and Silverton.

[knorton]

Thanks - I'm leaning towards 491 up to Cortez over to Durango on 160 then 550 to Silverton.

we will be traveling on a Saturday and probably taking a chance on all that 2 lane highway is risky of getting a back up just to save a few miles and possibly 20 minutes 🙂

[paulj]

I mainly wonder about the BIA 5 leg. It's probably offered because it's slightly shorter. Remember mapping programs chose based on time (or distance).

This area is flat, so the main question is road quality. Streetview fo BIA 5 is incomplete and old (2008), but Streeview from the NM371 intersection, and the Sat view shows an upgraded road with normal lane markings.

371 passes through a heavily irrigated area just north of that junction, which suggests increased traffic and access in the last decade. There aren't many towns.

If I drag that route up to Shiprock, US64, the time/distance difference is negligle.

North of 64, 550 further east is 4 lane up to Durango, while 140/141 is just two, but terrain looks similar.

You don't hit mountain driving until after Durango.