Alaskan Highway – Home Front

An example of some of the obstacles needed to be overcome for the highway.

The Alaska Road Commission had built thousands of miles of trails throughout interior and Northern Alaska, and many short roads from communities to the nearest water transportation access. It had not-except for the Valdez to Fairbanks road-undertaken to link communities by overland routes. That came only with the military requirements of World War II.

One of the first of those requirements was for a highway connecting air bases at Fairbanks and Anchorage. To make this connection, in 1941 the Alaska Road Commission began a road from the Richardson Highway, near today’s Glennallen, to Anchorage. When completed, it would be possible for the first time to drive from Anchorage to Fairbanks using a portion of the Richardson Highway and the newly-named Glenn Highway.

A highway from the rest of the United States through Canada to Alaska had been talked about as early as 1930. Congressional committees had recommended such a road in 1935 and 1939, but it was not until February of 1942, three months after the United States became an active participant in World War II, that a presidential committee recommended a highway link to supplement air and sea supply routes.

A point completed and used for rest and refreshment.

Work on the new Canadian-U.S. project began at once from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Big Delta, Alaska. Seven U.S. Army engineer regiments ( ~ 10,000 soldiers) and 47 civilian contracting companies ( ~ 6,000 workers) finished the work in nine months and six days. They bridged some 200 streams and rivers and completed an average of 8 miles per day.

The first “Fairbanks Freight” rolled up the highway in November of 1942. Work went on in 50-degree-below-zero weather as finished grading followed rough leveling. By December of 1943 the original bulldozed pioneer road had been upgraded to a permanent road 26 feet wide, gravel surfaced over 20 to 22 feet, with grades reduced to no more than 10 per cent and narrow bridges replaced by new two-lane structures. At the peak of construction in September of 1943 the Alaska Highway required over 1,100 pieces of heavy equipment. The total cost of the pioneer road exceeded $19 million.

Part of the highway created through virgin forest.

While the highway turned out not to be of much use in the military campaigns of World War II, for the first time people could travel to and from Alaska by other than sea or air. In 1944, the Alaska Road Commission assumed maintenance of the Alaska Highway between the Canadian border and Big Delta and also maintenance of the Tok to Slana spur of the highway

Click on images to enlarge.

##################################################################################################

Current WWII News – 

Memphis Belle & the returned control panel

The control panel of the Memphis Belle is back in the famous bomber!  Read the story!!

Co-pilot Dick Cole

Doolittle’s co-pilot celebrates his 100th birthday at the Flight Museum!    Read the story Here!

#############################################################################

Military ‘Cold’ Humor – 

Is this really worth it, Joe?

And you thought shoveling your driveway was hard?

 

 

 

###################################################################################################

Farewell Salutes – 

Harold Blampied – Auckland, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 133320, WWII, Artillery

Norman Farberow – Pittsburgh, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII

Rex Fisher – Fairbanks, AK; US Army, Korea

Horace Garton – Benton, AR; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 188th/11th Airborne

Eugene Jackson – No.Marshfield, MA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Tuskegee airman

Christopher Mulalley – Eurecka, CA; US Army, Afghanistan, Sgt.

Edward B. Ridley – Oxon Hill, MD; US Air Force, Vietnam, Technical Sergeant

Michael Sarni – Stamford, CT; USMC, Korea

Robert Tilden – Pittsboro, NC; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 187th Medical

Anthony Verdesca – Haworth, NJ; US Navy, WWII, Ensign

#################################################################################