Here's the mile marker representing the start of the Alaska Hi Way. As the sign indicates, Fairbanks is 1500 plus miles away! This is alot of driving! And this is really far from home!Alaska Hi Way was initiated by President Roosevelt in agreement with the Canadian gov't. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US wanted a road to connect with Alaska to send military there (my dad was stationed in Alaska during WW II). They thought that Japan might try to invade the US thru Alaska and at that time, there were no roads. Today, there are still very few roads. Many cities are traveled to by plane or boat only. The road took only 8 months to connect Dawson Creek to Fairbanks. It has over 100 bridges. And was not fully paved until the 1970's. The highway has the status of International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, only one of 16 projects to be recognized to date.
We have a map that indicates where gas is on the way. No big cities until we get to the capital of the Yukon Territory which is Whitehorse. And we pass over the Continental Divide 3 times.
Just a little bit of history for you all. I've done alot of reading in the car.
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