Alaska Roads Historic Overview Applied Historic Context of Alaska’s Roads Prepared for Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities February 2014 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Alaska Roads Historic Overview Applied Historic Context of Alaska’s Roads Prepared for Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Prepared by www.meadhunt.com and February 2014 Cover image: Valdez-Fairbanks Wagon Road near Valdez. Source: Clifton-Sayan-Wheeler Collection; Anchorage Museum, B76.168.3 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Table of Contents Table of Contents Page Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Project background ............................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Purpose and limitations of the study ................................................................................... 3 1.3 Research methodology ....................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Historic overview ................................................................................................................. 6 2. The National Stage ......................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 From early road building to the Great Depression .............................................................. 9 2.2 Depression and New Deal era programs .......................................................................... 13 2.3 Federal funding and policy transforms post-World War II roads ...................................... 15 3. On the Road: Alaska’s Road Development ............................................................................... 19 3.1 Influence of Alaska’s geography and climate ................................................................... 19 3.2 Alaska’s early trails and roads (1886 – 1904) ................................................................... 23 3.2.1 Setting the stage for road development and exploration (American Period – 1886) .................................................................................................................... 23 3.2.2 Gold rushes and development of early transportation routes (1886 – 1904) ...... 26 3.2.3 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 37 3.3 Development of Alaska’s early road system (1905 – 1929) ............................................. 37 3.3.1 Establishment and early efforts of the Alaska Road Commission ....................... 39 3.3.2 Road building in response to economic development ......................................... 41 3.3.2.1 Roads to support mining ......................................................................... 41 3.3.2.2 Roads supporting agricultural and other economic ventures ................. 47 3.3.3 Administrative and funding changes as Alaska becomes a territory ................... 48 3.3.4 World War I and Alaska’s road system at the end of the war .............................. 49 3.3.5 Alaska’s road system: The ARC’s 10-year plan .................................................. 49 3.3.6 Cooperation between road-building agencies and changing responsibilities ...... 54 3.3.7 Roads to areas other than mines ......................................................................... 55 3.3.8 Roads to connect transportation modes .............................................................. 57 3.3.9 1920s road building in perspective ...................................................................... 58 3.3.10 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 59 3.4 The impact of the Depression years on Alaska (1930 – 1940) ......................................... 59 3.4.1 ARC and BPR efforts during the 1930s ............................................................... 59 3.4.1.1 Funding ARC road work during the Depression era ............................... 62 3.4.1.2 Prioritizing roads and ARC accomplishments during the Depression era ........................................................................................................... 64 3.4.2 CCC involvement in road and trail construction ................................................... 67 3.4.3 Competition between the ARC and the Alaska Railroad ..................................... 68 \\msn-fp01\entp\2704700\114816.00\TECH\final\130109A.docx i Table of Contents 3.4.4 Proposed International Highway .......................................................................... 69 3.4.5 The close of the 1930s ......................................................................................... 72 3.4.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 73 3.5 World War II and the postwar years transform Alaska (1941 – 1958) .............................. 73 3.5.1 War and military impact on road building ............................................................. 75 3.5.1.1 The Army’s Alaska Highway and its heritage ......................................... 81 3.5.2 Improved access and connectivity during the postwar era .................................. 87 3.5.2.1 Roads to access agricultural areas and to support industry ................... 90 3.5.3 Alaska’s inclusion in the FAHA ............................................................................ 94 3.5.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 97 3.6 Transition to statehood and expansion of highways (1959 – 1965) ................................. 98 3.6.1 Statehood and the Omnibus Act of 1959 ............................................................. 99 3.6.2 State highway department road building focus and initiatives ........................... 100 3.6.2.1 Accessing resources ............................................................................. 104 3.6.3 Federal road-building efforts in Alaska .............................................................. 105 3.6.4 Good Friday Earthquake impacts the road network .......................................... 106 3.6.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 108 3.7 Reawakening of old priorities and development of new aims: earthquake reconstruction to the oil boom (1965-1977) .................................................................... 108 3.7.1 State road-building initiatives ............................................................................. 109 3.7.1.1 Highway reconstruction, safety, and beautification .............................. 110 3.7.1.2 Urban road development ...................................................................... 112 3.7.1.3 Connecting communities: completion of the Parks Highway ................ 114 3.7.1.4 Local service roads and trails ............................................................... 115 3.7.1.5 Roads to resources ............................................................................... 117 3.7.2 Federal road-building initiatives ......................................................................... 124 3.7.3 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 125 3.8 Recent road development (1978 – present) ................................................................... 125 3.8.1 State road development initiatives ..................................................................... 127 3.8.1.1 Alaska’s Interstate System .................................................................... 128 3.8.1.2 Upgrade of primary highways and Alaska’s National Highway System .................................................................................................. 131 3.8.1.3 Urban and rural roads improvement ..................................................... 131 3.8.1.4 Rural transportation planning ................................................................ 132 3.8.1.5 Renewed efforts to access resources ................................................... 133 3.8.2 Tourism in Alaska............................................................................................... 134 3.8.2.1 Scenic Byways ...................................................................................... 135 3.8.3 Federally owned and maintained roads in National Forests .............................. 137 3.8.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 137 4. Road Engineering ...................................................................................................................... 139 4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 139 4.2 Geography and climate ................................................................................................... 139 \\msn-fp01\entp\2704700\114816.00\TECH\final\130109A.docx ii Table of Contents 4.2.1 Regional overview .............................................................................................. 139 4.2.2 Climate challenges ............................................................................................. 140 4.3 Methods and materials .................................................................................................... 145 4.3.1 Gravel ................................................................................................................. 145 4.3.2 Wood .................................................................................................................. 146 4.3.2.1 Corduroy roads ..................................................................................... 146 4.3.2.2 Plank roads ........................................................................................... 148 4.3.3 Asphalt ............................................................................................................... 148 4.4 Road design and construction ........................................................................................ 149 4.4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 149 4.4.2 Early roads: 1905-1940 ...................................................................................... 150 4.4.2.1 Alaska Wagon roads ............................................................................. 152 4.4.2.2 Early permafrost construction ............................................................... 155 4.4.2.3 Improving to automobile standards ....................................................... 156 4.4.3 World War II and the Alaska Highway: 1941-1944 ............................................ 159 4.4.4 Postwar construction: 1945-1958 ...................................................................... 161 4.4.4.1 The six-year program ............................................................................ 162 4.4.4.2 New standards ...................................................................................... 164 4.4.4.3 Right-of-way .......................................................................................... 167 4.4.4.4 Permafrost construction ........................................................................ 170 4.4.4.5 Winter road maintenance ...................................................................... 171 4.4.5 Focus on improvement: 1959-1977 ................................................................... 172 4.4.5.1 Standards and safety ............................................................................ 172 4.4.5.2 1964 earthquake damage ..................................................................... 174 4.4.5.3 Permafrost and muskeg construction on new roads ............................ 175 4.4.5.4 Roadway insulation ............................................................................... 178 4.4.6 Recent construction, methods, and materials: 1978-present ............................ 180 4.4.6.1 Permafrost preservation ........................................................................ 180 4.4.6.2 Pavement design methods ................................................................... 181 4.4.6.3 Updating the Seward Highway.............................................................. 182 4.4.6.4 Whittier Access Tunnel conversion ....................................................... 183 4.5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 183 5. The Present Alaska Road System ............................................................................................ 185 5.1 Chronological development recap .................................................................................. 185 5.2 Geographic distribution and road ownership .................................................................. 188 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 191 \\msn-fp01\entp\2704700\114816.00\TECH\final\130109A.docx iii Table of Contents Appendices A Full Versions of Cropped Maps B Major Roads in Alaska and Significant Highway Name Origins C Alaska Road Commission Available Funding, 1940-1956 Sidebars Page Road jurisdiction and FHWA assistance ................................................................................................ 4 Chronology of national highway agencies ............................................................................................ 12 Alaska Highway and Public Works Department ................................................................................... 97 Highway department administrative history ........................................................................................ 102 The Alaska Highway Study ................................................................................................................. 109 Influential federal legislation for the environment and Native American rights .................................. 121 The national stage: early influence of national organizations and standard guidance ....................... 151 The national stage: effects of standard guidance ............................................................................... 162 ADH technological advancements: use of computers to aid in road design ...................................... 175 \\msn-fp01\entp\2704700\114816.00\TECH\final\130109A.docx iv Table of Contents Tables 1 Alaska’s main road agencies through the years ......................................................................... 38 2 Roads and trails taken over by BPR in the Tongass and Chugach National Forests by 1924 ..... 55 3 Number of miles of various types of ARC transportation routes in 1919 and 1929 ................... 58 4 Miles of roads and trails created and maintained by the ARC in 1930 ....................................... 60 5 Fourteen important routes to receive construction funding in the early 1930s ........................... 65 6 Total mileage maintained by the ARC in the 1940 fiscal year ...................................................... 72 7 Alaska road system in 1946 ........................................................................................................ 79 8 Alaska’s principal highways in 1956 ........................................................................................... 97 9 Designated Interstates in Alaska .............................................................................................. 129 10 Alaska’s National and State Scenic Byways ............................................................................ 136 11 AASHO standards for secondary highways, 1949 ................................................................... 165 12 Road standards, Alaska Road Commission Memorandum No. 2, January 1, 1949 ................ 166 13 Primary and secondary highway standards for two-lane rural roads in 1965 ............................. 172 14 Alaska’s road development and construction ........................................................................... 186 15 Alaska’s public road ownership mileage by owner ................................................................... 189 \\msn-fp01\entp\2704700\114816.00\TECH\final\130109A.docx v Table of Contents Figures 1 Map showing relative size of Alaska and the lower 48 states .................................................... 20 2 Map of Alaska highlighting major topographic features .............................................................. 22 3 Cropped portion of “Map Showing Routes to Alaska via St. Paul or Omaha” showing routes to the gold fields of Alaska and portions of the Northwest Territory from Southeastern Alaska in 1897 ............................................................................................................................ 27 4 Map showing route of Abercrombie’s expedition from Valdez to the Yukon in 1898 ................. 33 5 Roads and trails west of Fairbanks, 1909 .................................................................................. 43 6 Roads and trails in the Nome area, 1909 ................................................................................... 44 7 Hope Road, in 1909, connecting the town of Hope with the Alaska Central Railroad ............... 46 8 Existing and proposed ARC roads and trails, 1920 .................................................................... 51 9 The extent of the Alaskan transportation network in 1930 ......................................................... 61 10 1931 map of Route A of the proposed International Highway Route from Seattle, Washington, to Nome, Alaska, through Canada ............................................................. 71 11 Principal Alaska road system, c.1944 ......................................................................................... 78 12 Map of the Alaska Highway route ............................................................................................... 81 13 Photograph of Corporal Refines Sims, Jr. and Private Alfred Jalufka shaking hands upon meeting to close the final gap of the Alaska Highway in 1942 ................................................... 85 14 Progress of road construction in Alaska ..................................................................................... 98 15 Dedication of the Parks Highway, October 14, 1971 ................................................................ 115 16 General layout of Alaska’s Interstate highways ........................................................................ 130 17 Map of permafrost zones .......................................................................................................... 141 18 Cleaning and stripping effects on permafrost ........................................................................... 142 19 Excavating by hand on the Richardson Highway, 1914 ........................................................... 153 \\msn-fp01\entp\2704700\114816.00\TECH\final\130109A.docx vi