Alaska Interstates

Road map of the Alaska Interstate System

Overview

According to the Federal Highway Administration Interstate Highway (FHWA) Route Log and Finder List, Alaska has four Interstate highways that create a 1,082.22 mile system in the northernmost state. Even though these routes are designated as Interstate highways, they are generally not constructed to Interstate standards and are signed as Alaska State Routes.

Route Southern/Western End Northern/Eastern End
Alaska Highway 1 Couplet of Ingra / Gambell Streets at 5th / 6th Avenues
Interstate A-3 – Anchorage		 Canadian Border – Yukon Territory
Alaska Highway 2 / Alaska Hwy at Alaska Highway 1 / Tok Cutoff Hwy
Interstate A-1 – Tok Junction		 Alaska Highway 2 / Richardson Hwy at  Alaska Highway 3 / Parks Hwy
Interstate A-4 – Fairbanks
Alaska Highway 1 at Kenai Spur Highway and Sterling Highway – Soldotna Alaska Highway 1 Couplet of Ingra / Gambell Streets at 5th / 6th Avenues
Interstate A-1 – Anchorage
Alaska Highway 3 / Parks Hwy at Alaska Highway 1 / Glenn Hwy
Interstate A-1 – Palmer		 Alaska Highway 3 / Parks Hwy at Alaska Highway 2 / Richardson Hwy
Interstate A-2 – Fairbanks

History

On December 31, 1981 the Federal Highway Administration approved the addition of the four Alaska Interstates between the following locations:

  • A-1 from the Alaska-Canada border near Northway west to A-2 at Tok Junction, south to A-4 near Glennallen and continuing west to A-3 at Anchorage.
  • A-2 from a junction with A-1 at Tok Junction west to A-4 and FAP-65 (Airport Way) in Fairbanks.
  • A-3 from a junction with A-1 in Anchorage south and west to FAP-21 (Sterling Highway) and FAP-22 (Kenai Spur Highway) in Soldotna via a junction with FAP-31 (Seward Highway) in the vicinity of Moose Pass.
  • A-4 from a junction with A-1 near Palmer northwest via Wasilla, Denali National Park and Preserve and Nenana to a junction with A-2 and FAP-65 (Airport Way) in Fairbanks.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) then approved the numbering of the Alaska Interstates on June 28, 1982. The descriptions generally matched those outlined in the FHWA document, with the exception that the shared end point of Interstate A2 and I-A4 was located at the intersection of SR 2 (Richardson Highway) and SR 3 (Parks Highway) in Fairbanks instead of along SR 2 at Airport Way.1

For more details and other pictures, see Oscar Voss’s Alaska Roads – Interstate ends photos.

Route Information

Interstate A-1

  • Mileage – 408.23

  • Cities – Anchorage, Palmer, Tok Junction

  • Junctions –  in Palmer, in Tok

  • State Routes – AK-1 Anchorage east to Tok; AK-2 Tok east to International Border

Interstate A-2

  • Mileage – 202.18

  • Cities – Fairbanks, North Pole, Tok Junction

  • Junctions – Interstate A-4 in Fairbanks, Interstate A-1 in Tok Junction
  • State Routes – AK-2 from Tok Junction north to Fairbanks

Interstate A-3

  • Mileage – 148.12

  • Cities – Soldotna, Anchorage

  • Junctions –  in Anchorage
  • State Routes – AK-1 from Soldotna north to Anchorage

Interstate A-4

  • Mileage – 323.69

  • Cities – Wasilla, Denali National Park, Fairbanks

  • Junctions –  near Palmer,  in Fairbanks

  • State Routes – AK-3 from AK-1 near Palmer north to Anchorage

Total Mileage – 1,082.22

Source: December 31, 2021 Interstate Route Log and Finders List

Alaska 1969
1969 Official Alaska Highway Map showing the completed portions of the Alaska highway network.

Alaska State Route 3 was the last to be built of the Interstate system within The Last Frontier. The incomplete stretch between Willow and Nenana in 1969 was augmented by the Alaska Railroad, which offered transportation for passenger vehicles.

Sources:

  1. AASHTO – Route Numbering Committee Agenda, dated June 28, 1982, Portsmouth, NH.

Thanks go to Oscar and Stephen Summers for assisting AARoads with information and for this page.

Page updated September 25, 2023.