Probably to mine or a mine town originally? Very often yes. But also as access roads to infrastructure like long-distance power transmission lines, pipelines,

Probably to mine or a mine town originally? Very often yes. But also as access roads to infrastructure like long-distance power transmission lines, pipelines, or remote communication towers. Also, there are a lot of fire roads. People don't think of the desert as a place of wildfires, but the desert does indeed burn.