The Beginning: :
The Beginning: Proposals for this highway originated in the 1920s.
A man named Slim Williams originally travelled the route by dogsled to promote the building of the highway.
Since most of the route would pass through Canada, their support was essential but they would have none of it.
The Route: :
The Route: The preferred route would pass through the Rocky Mountain Trench from Prince George, British Columbia to Dawson City before turning west to Fairbanks, Alaska.
World War II interrupted and changed the priorities for The US and Canada. There were threats from the Japanese to the West Coast of North America and the Aleutian Islands.
Construction :
Construction On February 6, 1942 the construction of the Alaska Highway was approved by the United States Army and the project received authorization from Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt five days later.
Canada agreed to allow construction if the US bore the full cost and that the road and other facilities be turned over to Canadian authorities after the war ended. The official start of construction was March 8, 1942.
The Road :
The Road The road began near Mile O at Dawson Creek. Construction accelerated through the spring and crews were able to work from both ends.
Both crews met at Mile 588 at what became known as Contact Creek. The entire route was completed on October 28, 1942 with the end at Mile 1202, Beaver Creek, the highway was dedicated on November 20, 1942 at Soldier’s Summit. The highway was not usable by the public until 1943.
Public Use of the Highway :
Public Use of the Highway On April 1, 1946 the Canadian portion was mandated back to them. The entire 1,422 mile route from Dawson Creek to Delta Junction was gravel without any guardrails. The highway crosses the BC – Yukon border six times.
The Alaska section was paved in 1960s. The Canadian section remained largely gravel into the 1980s. Today the entire route is paved.
The Canadian portion of the road is roughly 1,187 miles and the US portion is now unclear due to revisions of the road but the first milepost is 1222.
The End :
The End Sources:
Wikipedia.
Alaska Highway – Yukon Archives.
History of the Alaskan Highway - from the Milepost.
Al-Can Highway .com – 95th US Engineer Regiment