Alaska Highway

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Alaska Highway,

all-weather road, 1,523 mi (2,451 km) long, extending NW from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Fairbanks, Alaska. An extension of an existing Canadian road between Dawson Creek and Edmonton, Alta., the Alaska Highway was constructed (Mar.–Sept., 1942) by U.S. troops as a supply route to military forces in Alaska during World War II. It was a significant engineering feat because of the difficulties of terrain and weather. In the last stretch to Fairbanks the road used the previously built Richardson Highway. The Haines Cutoff connects the Alaska Highway with the Alaska panhandle. In 1946 control of the Canadian part of the road was transferred to Canada. In 1947 the entire highway was opened to unrestricted travel; it is one of the best routes to Alaska. The highway is open throughout the year, and there are roadside facilities along its length. It was formerly known as the Alaskan International Highway and the Alcan Highway.

Alaska Highway

a road extending from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Fairbanks, Alaska: built by the US Army (1942). Length: 2452 km (1523 miles)
References in periodicals archive ?
I met one such on an Alaskan highway, a 2-year-old, lying in the road with its head on its paws like a dog waiting for his master.
He was out in minus something ridiculous on the Alaskan highway."
Klondike Highway 2 in Skagway and the Haines Highway in Haines link up with the infamous Al-Can (Alaskan Highway).
We used our souped-up car to travel all over Alberta, including a long trip up the Alaskan Highway north of Edmonton.
Completed in 1943, the 1,522-mile long Alaska Highway--also known as the Alaskan Highway, Alaska-Canadian Highway, or the ALCAN--was constructed during World War II by the U.S.
At a news conference, he was asked if Canada would refuse to provide permits to the project for the sections traveling through Canada if Congress mandated the Alaskan Highway route.
and Canadian gas producers to pool southern-bound shipments of gas from Alaska and the NWT's Mackenzie Valley at lower cost and at a shorter route than the alternate Alaskan Highway route.
"There are many vehicle accidents on Alaskan highways each year due to ice and snow, and road salt and sand just aren't cutting it in some areas," Lund says.
In addition to monitoring commercial munitions trucks in the 48 contiguous states, DTTS expanded its mission in FY '04 to include Alaskan highways and the western Canadian motor corridor between Alaska and Washington State.

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