Alaska

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/tdmVrrsNcQuSP1k5A
Has anyone ever driven up to the spot in the image while clinching SR 11 in the process?

[oscar]

https://goo.gl/maps/tdmVrrsNcQuSP1k5A
Has anyone ever driven up to the spot in the image while clinching SR 11 in the process?

I've driven past that point on one or both of my visits to Deadhorse (either on my way to the airport in 1994, or to refuel in 2012), though I don't remember the Peterbilt shop.

AK 11 ends before that point, at the Dalton Hwy/Lake Colleen intersection.

[Quillz]

I know there's some point where there is no more public access, but I'm not sure if that station is part of the restrictions or not. If you want to get all the way to the Arctic Ocean, you have to arrange it with some tour companies (although it's pretty trivial to do). Generally a solo drive will consist of taking AK-11 to its actual northern end (very close to that spot), and then you can keep going to some small little motels in the area.

I've yet to do the whole thing solo but my goal is to finally do it next winter. (Been as far as the Arctic Circle sign). I was surprised at how easy the drive was, it wasn't at all the horribly dangerous drive that I was led to believe. (Frankly, other highways such as Steese were in much worse shape). Even in winter, was a pretty simple drive, the main rule being you just yield to any trucks that pass by. So I'm excited at the idea of finally getting the whole thing clinched. Been very interested in cresting the Brooks Range.

[roadman65]

Does Alaska have Moose Crossing signs on their desolate ( which is all rural highways there)?

[JayhawkCO]

Does Alaska have Moose Crossing signs on their desolate ( which is all rural highways there)?

Very often. On the drive back from Whittier to Cantwell, I counted 17 moose.

[Alps]

https://goo.gl/maps/tdmVrrsNcQuSP1k5A
Has anyone ever driven up to the spot in the image while clinching SR 11 in the process?

Yes but it's not remarkable, why bring it up here

[roadman65]

I was noticing that Skagway is one of the few towns in Southeastern Alaska that is connected to the lower 48 by road. It lies at the southern terminus of AK 98 ( named for the 1898 gold rush) 15 miles south of Canada in the Skagway Valley in which the route follows.

Although the route doesn't connect to the rest of the state it connects to an orphaned section of Highway 2 in BC, as it intersects no other roads. Yukon is the only way to take a motor vehicle to the rest of Canada especially British Columbia from Hwy. 2. So both AK and BC are basically cut off from the rest of their territories by any road.

What I find interesting is the town itself.  It's small, near no cities and orphaned by land to the rest of their citizens. No major industry but tourism and fishing. A town that could most likely survive without state aid, with the exception of Highway 98 that is state funded hence the route designation.

I'm taking that the state DOT has a special unit assigned to just take care of AK 98 due to its isolation.

[oscar]

Although the route doesn't connect to the rest of the state it connects to an orphaned section of Highway 2 in BC, as it intersects no other roads.

Don't know what you mean by "orphaned". AK 98 connects to Yukon 2, including the part in BC. Same for the Haines segment of AK 7, which connects to the BC part of Yukon 3. Yukon and BC maintain other highways on each other's turf, especially the Alaska Highway which zigzags along the YT/BC border.

I'm taking that the state DOT has a special unit assigned to just take care of AK 98 due to its isolation.

Alaska DOT maintains lots of highways everywhere in the state, not just the handful that are assigned route numbers. These unnumbered highways include some in the Aleutians, Kodiak, and remote villages in western Alaska. So commonplace, they aren't "special".

[roadman65]

Although the route doesn't connect to the rest of the state it connects to an orphaned section of Highway 2 in BC, as it intersects no other roads.

Don't know what you mean by "orphaned". AK 98 connects to Yukon 2, including the part in BC. Same for the Haines segment of AK 7, which connects to the BC part of Yukon 3. Yukon and BC maintain other highways on each other's turf, especially the Alaska Highway which zigzags along the YT/BC border.

I'm taking that the state DOT has a special unit assigned to just take care of AK 98 due to its isolation.

Alaska DOT maintains lots of highways everywhere in the state, not just the handful that are assigned route numbers. These unnumbered highways include some in the Aleutians, Kodiak, and remote villages in western Alaska. So commonplace, they aren't "special".

Orphaned meaning disconnected from other state roads. Not saying it does not connect to anything else. It's like I-15 being orphaned from the rest of Arizona despite driving through Utah or Nevada will still get you there.

[triplemultiplex]

One of the things I'll always remember about Skagway was how slow the mobile data functioned when the cruise ships were in town. Basically not going to get anything but a plain text SMS out.  At least that was the case back when I was up there.  Perhaps they've upped their bandwidth since then.

Then I caught a dolly in the creek that flows in there.

[Kniwt]

Anchorage Daily News reports that Denali Park Road will continue to be closed at Mile 43 until 2026.
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2023/06/05/denali-park-road-not-fully-reopening-until-2026-after-bridge-construction-pushed-back-a-year/

The 92-mile road through Denali National Park and Preserve will remain closed near the halfway point for another three years due to newly discovered construction delays in the area of a treacherous landslide.

Park officials closed the Denali Park Road west of the Pretty Rocks Landslide in August 2021, saying it was no longer feasible to safely maintain. The road provides the only vehicular access into the 6-million-acre park. Buses carrying visitors into the park now turn around at Mile 43.

Road construction initially expected to wrap up in 2025 is now not expected to be complete until 2026. Park officials say the delay stems from a combination of a long winter that delayed the start of construction and the discovery that crews will need to extract more than two times as much clay as originally expected from the Pretty Rocks area.

The road began slumping in recent years at Mile 45 because of the landslide, which began moving more rapidly in 2014, amid increasing temperatures and heavy rainfall events.

[Alex]

Alaska will be getting two more DDI's.
The east end of Johansen Expressway at SR 2 (Steese Expressway) will be converted from an at-grade intersection. Here is the project web page.

Planners finalizing design for Fairbanks expressways' new intersection

A new $81 million intersection to improve traffic flow and safety is being designed for Fairbanks' Steese and Johansen Expressways.

The design has been scoped by Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities engineers since 2018, but requires local municipalities to grant the state planning authority. It's up for a public hearing this week before the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, but it is missing a trail underpass the borough and other groups have asked for.

South into Anchorage, the diamond interchange joining SR 1 (Seward Highway) with O'Malley Road will be converted to a DDI. The project web page.

Set to start this summer, $130M Seward Highway project in South Anchorage faces renewed scrutiny

The Anchorage Assembly and some community members want the state to reconsider a $130 million Seward Highway expansion project that has long been in the works.

After years of planning, construction on the O'Malley Road to Dimond Boulevard project is expected to start late this summer, with completion in 2025, state transportation planners say.

Plans for the 1.5-mile stretch of highway in South Anchorage include raising it to create a roundabout interchange linking Scooter Avenue with Academy Drive; adding the equivalent of two lanes with a new northbound lane plus frontage and ramp improvements; and constructing the state's second "diverging diamond"  interchange with criss-crossing lanes at the O'Malley underpass.

The first DDI in the state is located along SR 1 (Glenn Highway) at Muldoon Road.

[Quillz]

I've been on that DDI and it really does flow nicely. I'm familiar with that intersection in Fairbanks and it never struck me as terribly crowded, but any improvements are nice. Alaska in general seems to have a lot of really modernized junctions, which isn't something I was expecting given the low population. Lots of roundabouts in Anchorage, for example.

[Road Hog]

A relative of mine posted this very short Facebook video of an Alaskan highway, and I'm impressed at first glance of its engineering. Somewhere in the Fairbanks area is all I know. (She likes Filipino music loud, so apologies in advance)

https://www.facebook.com/cathy.spinks.1/videos/677289514292327

[Quillz]

That doesn't look like the Fairbanks area. Fairbanks is a subarctic area and doesn't really have the thick forest cover you see. That looks like somewhere well to the south. A street blade was seen but I couldn't make out the name. This might be the Richardson Highway heading southeast away from Fairbanks, as that reaches into the more boreal forest this looks like.

Alaska has pretty good roads in general. Anchorage utilizes a lot of roundabouts and I'm seeing diverging diamonds appear. For the most part, only the rural roads are unpaved. Most of the significant highways are paved and never give me any issues.

[roadwaywiz95]

For this upcoming weekend's Webinar presentation, we'll be taking a look at the highway system of the state of Alaska. We'll be taking some time to discuss our own experiences traveling across the state and highlighting our favorite drives and landmarks. Coverage will begin on Saturday (1/27) at 6 PM ET and will feature live contributions from members of this forum; we hope to see you there!

[Quillz]

My tour guide on the Dalton Highway told me the numbers are mainly used by tourists, and rarely referenced by locals. He strangely wasn't even aware the Dalton Highway was AK-11 until I pointed it out.

What I was surprised to learn was for so few numbered highways, even Alaska had a renumbering at one point.

[oscar]

He strangely wasn't even aware the Dalton Highway was AK-11 until I pointed it out.

Route markers are sparse on that highway. At mile 0 (south end), around mile 60 (Yukon River area), mile 175 (Coldfoot), and mile 305 (Slope Mountain Camp). There is also a sign assembly near the north end (mile 416) that looks like it once had an AK 11 route marker.

With only one highway in that region, there is little danger of travelers getting lost.