Long Description:"The Alaska Highway winding in and winding out fills my mind with
serious doubt as to whether "the lout" who planned this route was
going to hell or coming out!"
- Retired Sergeant Troy Hise
(written while he was stationed at Summit Lake, Historical Mile
392)
The following was taken from the Tourism Dawson Creek Website:
(visit link)
For over fifty years, the famed Alaska Highway has been a
significant draw for visitors and residents alike. The building of
the Alaska Highway is an epic tale that involves mystery, romance,
and intrigue.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. This
significant event forced the American and Canadian governments to
reevaluate their security. There was an obvious need to shore up
and protect the sovereignty of North America.
In response, a secure land transportation link was needed to
transfer goods, materials, and men from the lower 48 states to
Alaska. As one part of the wartime measures,1500 miles of road
needed to be punched through the vast untamed wilderness of
northern Canada and Alaska. Building in these northern areas would
not be an easy feat; men and women would battle the mountains,
muskegs and mosquitoes for eight months to finish this vital
artery.
On March 9, 1942, Dawson Creek, a small northern Canadian community
with a population of 600 people, bustled and swelled with activity
when the first train carrying American troops arrived. In a matter
of weeks the town’s population exploded to 10,000. Seven regiments
of American engineers (approximately 11,000 men including three
regiments of men with African American heritage) 16,000 civilians
from Canada and the United States, and 7,000 pieces of equipment
were thrown into action against some of the toughest and most
unforgiving wilderness in the world.
On November 20, 1942, after little over nine months of intense
construction, 250 soldiers, civilians, policemen, and government
delegations from Canada and the United States, met at mile 1061,
known as “Soldiers Summit”, where they cut the ribbon officially
opening the “Alcan” Highway. The total cost for the construction of
the 1,523 mile route, which also includes 133 major bridges and
more than 8,000 culverts which, if placed end to end, would stretch
over 57 miles, was about $140 million U.S. dollars.
This remarkable achievement has developed into a major
transportation link in North America, stretching from Mile ‘0’ at
Dawson Creek, British Columbia through the Yukon Territory and into
Alaska. In 1946, reconstruction and upgrading was carried out under
Canadian Army supervision.
On April 1, 1971, the Canadian Federal Government turned over
the maintenance of the Yukon section of the Alaska Highway to the
Yukon Department of Highways and Public Works. Ever since the
Alaska Highway was completed in the 1940’s, a continuous program of
upgrading, widening and straightening has been underway. Virtually
100% of the Alaska Highway is now paved. The Alaska Highway, once
an emergency wartime road, has developed into a vital link between
the giant industrial regions of the U.S. and Canada and the natural
resources of the Alaska and Yukon. But, aside from the economic
aspects of the highway, it also represents a permanent monument to
the resilient and enduring friendship between two great nations. On
September 28th, 1996, a ceremony was held in Dawson Creek, at this
time the Alaska Highway was designated as the 16th International
Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. completed 8 months later.
Regiments of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were moved north
to work on the road. The Public Roads Administration organized
civilian engineers and equipment, shipping everything from office
furniture to trucks thousands of miles north.
The general route of the highway, determined by the War
Department, was along a line of existing airfields from Edmonton,
AB, to Fairbanks, AK. But down on the ground, the road followed
existing winter roads, old Indian trails and rivers. Sometimes
routing of the road relied on "sight engineering."
Soldiers of the 36th Regiment from the south and the 340th
Regiment from the north met at Contact Creek near the British
Columbia-Yukon Territory border on Sept. 24, 1942, marking
completion of the southern sector of the Alaska Highway. By
October, it was possible for a vehicle to travel the entire length
of the highway, which had been dubbed the Alaska-Canada Military
Highway, or "Alcan" for short.
Literally bulldozed through the wilderness, road conditions
along the Alcan were horrific; 90 degree turns and 25 percent
grades were not uncommon. Rain and truck traffic turned sections of
the road into an impassable mire. The highway was improved in
1943.
In exchange for the highway's right-of-way through Canada and
other considerations, the United States paid for construction of
the highway and turned over the Canadian portion of the highway to
the Canadian government in April 1946. The highway officially
opened to the public in 1948.