Alaska – Just the word makes me cold
Alaska is cold and I get chills just thinking about it. When we purchased it from Russia, for two cents an acre in 1867, it was simply for the purpose of extending a telegraph line that the Russians saw no value in. After the purchase, we didn’t do much with it until 1912, when it became an organized territory. If you ask me, it was just too cold up there and nobody at the time saw a need to travel that far North, except some explorers who do that kind of thing for fun.
As time went on, some folks thought it might be interesting to build a road into Alaska. The proposal was originally made in the 1920′s. In order to find a proper route to follow, they asked a guy named Slim Williams to travel the route by dog sled. Slim had originally gone to Alaska at the tender age of 18 in his quest for adventure. So I guess they figured that he was just crazy enough to find the route they needed.
In order to actually build the highway, they needed the support of Canada, since most of the highway had to go through there. Canada saw no value in the proposal and the plans were put on the back burner for awhile. However, the US continued to plan a route just in case.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Canada decided it might be a good idea to put in a supply route after all. So in February of 1942, Congress and President Roosevelt approved the project and Canada agreed as long as the United States paid the entire bill. So on March 8, 1942 construction began. Originally the road was to be a supply route for the U.S. Army, so they took over the planning and construction. Hundreds of pieces of construction equipment had to be brought in to start construction. The crews were very fortunate early on, because the weather allowed them to proceed at both ends at the same time. They stepped up the construction effort after the Japanese invaded the Aleutian islands just 1,200 miles west.
The actual route was somewhat different from the one originally planned. The need to connect a series of airfields, know as the Northwest Staging Route, made it necessary to move the route over some very rough terrain. This required additional equipment, some of which was commandeered by the U.S. Army and had earlier been headed for California.
The rough road of about 1,680 miles was completed on October 28, 1942 and dedicated the following month. The original road was not usable by “regular” traffic until 1943 because of the steep grades and rough surface, so only heavy duty type vehicles were able to use it. After completion the Army turned the road over to the Public Roads Administration who began issuing contracts for improvements, including removing excess bends and steep grades.
The initial agreement stipulated that the U.S. turn over control, of the portion that ran through Canada, six months after completion. This actually didn’t take place until 1946, four years after it was completed. I guess the Canadians realized there were still some bills to be paid.
Even now improvements are constantly being made to the road. The latest being a section going through the Yukon which is expected to continue through 2009. A major problem with that portion of the road is “permafrost”. This is a phenomenon where the soil itself freezes and has a thin layer on top which thaws during certain climate changes. The constant freezing and thawing causes the surface of the road to buckle which is referred to as “frost heave”.
Even with the Alaskan Highway problems that exist today, it was a truly amazing feat to build a road that long, under severe conditions, in just seven months. Just the weather by itself would prevent that accomplishment even today. For comparison purposes think about I95 (1,925 miles) from Florida to Maine. It was started in 1957 and they still haven’t finished a section between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I’m just saying!
Oh! I just thought that I would tell you, it’s not always extremely cold in all parts of Alaska. When my brother was in the Air Force in the early 70′s, he was stationed in Alaska for a short time. He has pictures, from that period, of him and some friends tossing around a football and all were wearing t-shirts.
Anyway, there’s a lot more to know about Alaska and all the information you need is available at www.Alaska.TellMeAboutThat.com. If you’d like to read my other articles just go to www.TellMeAboutThat.com.
