List of Alaska Routes
Alaska Routes are both numbered and named. There have been only twelve numbers issued (1 through 11 and 98), and the numbering often has no obvious pattern. For example, Alaska Route 4 runs north and south, whereas Alaska Route 2 runs largely east and west, but runs north and south passing through and to the north of Fairbanks. The Klondike Highway, built in 1978, was unnumbered until 1998, when it was given its designation during the centennial of the Klondike Gold Rush. However, many Alaskan highways of greater length than the Klondike Highway remain unnumbered.
![]() ![]() Shields for Alaska Routes | |
Highway names | |
---|---|
Interstates | Interstate A-n (A-n) |
State | Alaska Route n (AK-n) or Route n |
System links | |
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Mileposts, frequently used for road markers and official addressing in rural areas, are also more commonly reckoned by landmark names.
Names versus numbers
Within Alaska, roads are almost invariably referred to by name or general destination, and not by number(s).
Numbered routes often span multiple highway names. For example, Alaska Route 1 can refer to any of the Glenn Highway, Seward Highway, Sterling Highway, or Tok Cut-Off; meanwhile, portions of the Seward Highway are numbered Alaska Route 1, 9 and Interstate A3.
Interstate highway shields are not posted along highways in Alaska; these designations occur only on paper.
Marine Highway system
The Alaska Marine Highway and several other Alaska highways or routes are recognized as "highways" eligible for federal funding by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).[1] The Marine Highway was declared a National Scenic Byway by the FHWA on June 13, 2002;[2] and later declared an All-American Road on September 22, 2005.[3]
The system is divided into different regions of service: Southeast, Cross-Gulf, Prince William Sound, South-Central, and Southwest.[4][5][6]
Highways by route number
Highways by name
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Highways listed below are not signed as numbered state routes.
Name | Southern or western terminus | Northern or eastern terminus |
---|---|---|
Alaska Peninsula Highway | Naknek | King Salmon |
Chena Hot Springs Road | Old Steese Highway north of Fairbanks | Chena Hot Springs |
Denali Park Road | Mile 237 (km 382) Parks Highway (in Denali National Park) | Kantishna |
Douglas Highway | Douglas Island | Douglas Island |
Hope Highway | AK-1 (Seward Highway) near Hope | Dead end in Hope |
Kenai Spur Highway | AK-1 (Sterling Highway) in Soldotna | Bay Beach Road in Nikiski |
Minnesota Drive Expressway | Old Seward Highway in Anchorage | West 15th Avenue in Anchorage |
Johansen Expressway | University Avenue in College, Alaska | AK-2 (Steese Expressway) in Fairbanks |
Nome-Council Highway | Nome | Council |
Nome-Taylor Highway | Nome | Taylor |
Nome-Teller Highway | Nome | Teller, also called the Bob Blodgett Highway |
Palmer-Wasilla Highway | Palmer | Wasilla |
Portage Glacier Highway | AK-1 (Seward Highway) in Portage | Marine Highway in Whittier |
Salmon River Road | Canada–United States border at Stewart, British Columbia | Granduc Mine |
Top of the World Highway | AK-5 (Taylor Highway) near Jack Wade | Hwy 9 at the Canada–United States border |
Zimovia Highway | Wrangell | McCormick Creek Road |
List of U.S. Highways in Alaska
At one point, the Alaskan portion of the Alaska Highway was proposed to be designated part of U.S. Highway 97 (US-97), but this was never carried out. Certain prior editions of USGS topographic maps, mostly published during the 1950s, do bear the US-97 highway shield along or near portions of the current AK-2. [7] The Alaska International Rail and Highway Commission lobbied for the designation of US 97 from Fairbanks, Alaska to Mexico City in the late 1950s.[8]
See also
- List of state highways in the United States
- List of British Columbia provincial highways
- List of Yukon territorial highways
- The Milepost
References
- "Title 23 Section 218 United States Code" (PDF). U.S. Congress.
- "New 2002 National Scenic Byways". Federal Highway Administration.
- "New 2005 All-American Roads". Federal Highway Administration.
- "AMHS Routes". Alaska Marine Highway System.
- "AMHS Running Times". Alaska Marine Highway System.
- "AMHS Schedules". Alaska Marine Highway System.
- "History". Highway 97 in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, & California. Summit Solutions Ltd. 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
- "Alaskan At Highway 97 Meeting". The Seattle Times. November 15, 1959. p. 73.
External links
- "Map of Alaska state highways and numbers" (PDF). from the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities