Constuction Of The Alaska Highway (1944)

My Wife and I drove out of Alaska from Anchorage in 1964 in my 1956 Chevy. The pavement ended at the Canadian border. The milepost booklet guided us. I carried 4 extra new tires, two jerry cans of extra gas, oil and lots of tools. It washboard gravel road from that Alaska / Canadian boarder for over a thousand miles until we reached Fort St John which was 70 miles north of Dawson Creek. After almost two weeks when we hit pavement. I turned 21 years on tha Alaska Highway. Some days I drove 18 hours just to travel 200+ miles. We did not get to use a motel until Mile zero at Dawson Creek. From there we traveled the Transcanadian Highway past Toronto and across The Nigra Falls area back the USA. In all we drove 7,000 miles to south Florida I hardly understood how they made the Alaska Highway in about 8 months. I still have that milepost logbook It was an adventure.

Every time I see a relatively simple road construction project that seems to take forever I think of these men and what they accomplished in so little time.

Best part is parking for the night and not seeing one person or car all night. Makes you feel alone like the first settlers. Peace and quiet like nowhere else. And the feeling that if something goes wrong you are screwed. Liberty at its finest. Love it!!!!

My grandfather helped build the Alaskan Highway. The construction company he, his brother, and another gentleman owned were contracted.. I have a great photo album my grandfather put together.

My Grandfather was one of the men who worked on this road. My father tells me that my grandfather, left his wife and 4 children in Oklahoma to go work on this project for 2 years. Those were real men who knew how to get the job done, think about what America could be if we all had a similar mindset. Rest in Peace Pops.

We did it in 1956 when I was a kid. It was all gravel road then. My Dad was Corp Of Eng. ( SCARWAF) My earliest memories are of the ALCAN. My story was even stranger. We had been stationed in N. Calf. building Beal AFB when Marysville and Yuba City were wiped out by the Christmas flood of the Feather River. SO they sent us to Elmandorf for Dad to work on the DEW line. We left N. Ca. and drove to our home in Atlanta, Ga. We then turned around and drove from Atlanta to Anchorage. On the ALCAN you stopped at every (few) gas station even if they were closed and you had to sleep in your car all night. SOmething the viewers might not notice. All the tractors and backhoe, etc. are worked with cable, not hydraulics back then.

I live in a Alaska and have driven the Alcan just recently...it’s an awesome feeling to be driving such a remote highway...Pink Mountain, Muncho Lake, Kluane National Park are all gorgeous

I worked in logging in the 70's in BC. Amazed me what a D8 could do in a day building road with a skilled operator.

1500 miles in 8 months is an extraordinary achievement!

A really proud testament to military Engineers and the construction teams that built the road and bridges

In the Yukon we call it just "The highway". For without it, we can't continue to live up here. Amazing video find! Hats off for posting it.

I drive the road regularly and still marvel at the achievement the vast distance and wilderness is unbelievable

Excellent review of history. There are many older paths cut by this effort that today sit just off main roads as the bridges they led to have been replaced... some more than once. The 21st century explorer needs to go to the Library of Congress (in person or on-line) and obtain original maps in order to do an overlay, so to speak, to then be able to locate and identify these locales.  I hope this story is never forgotten. 

My husband and I drove it in 2003. What a adventure it was. Memories I will never forget.

Drove the alcan when I separated from military stationed in anchorage. Unbelievable drive, something I'm very lucky to have experienced

This footage is amazing! Back when men were expected to be men, and work hard until the job was done. It's incredible what they were able to accomplish with the machines and tools they had at the time. I'm sure most of these men are gone now, but their legacy will live on.

I supervised realignment/construction of sections of the Alaska highway, we also pioneered 100 miles through mountains & muskeg. Everyone should have the opportunity to experience what is involved & the challenges that come along with hard work & purpose.

I drove the full length of it in the summer of 1973. At that time it was still just two lane gravel road. No safety rails and still steep hills and deep valleys. I've heard it's been updated since then.

I would have loved to have been one to work on this road, see untouched wilderness, and help make America stronger. I appreciate the exhausting and dangerous work these men did. God bless America 🇺🇸

I drove the Alaskan Highway in 92, the 50th anniversary. It was cool, there were parts on the old highway still open.. I have met people that actually drove the highway after the war, telling how they brought extra parts for the car, they would rely on gas in 55 gallon drums at points along the highway set up by the army. They would hunt and fish for there food along the way.. Today driving the Alskan Highway is a breeze, but it is a wonderful experience...