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Background
Proposals for a highway to Alaska had been discussed since the 1920s, but it took the crisis of World War II to make a viable land link to Alaska a reality.
Photo courtesy of Alaska: Life Magazine,
November 1940.
On February 11, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized construction of a road to connect the airstrips along the Northwest Staging Route, a chain of airfields from Great Falls, Montana, through Canada, to Alaska used to ferry military aircraft. When the Japanese took control of shipping lanes in the Pacific, the American troops' supply line was threatened and a road to Alaska was considered the best alternative. On March 8, 1942, construction of the Alaska Highway officially began. Trailblazing was primarily completed by the U.S. Army, while civilian contractors followed them to widen and straighten the road. Completed in 1943, it is 2,237 kilometers or 1,522 miles long.
Still photo courtesy of PBS
"American Experience: The Alaska Highway"
Since much of the route would pass through Canada, support from the Canadian government was crucial. However, the Canadian government perceived no value in putting up the required funds to build the road, since the only part of Canada that would benefit was not more than a few thousand people in the Yukon Territory. Canada agreed to allow construction as long as the United States bore the full cost, and that the road and other facilities in Canada would be turned over to Canadian authority after the war ended. There were five different routes proposed, and due to the imminence of war, and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the choice had to be made quickly on the route. Time expediency and geographical considerations were also taken in account when choosing the fifth route, which is the present location of the highway.
The Black Regiments Who Worked on the Highway - The 93rd, 95th and 97th
Three out of seven regimental units during World War II – the 93rd, 95th, and 97th - were enlisted Black men, making up one third (3,695) of all enlisted men building the Highway. Morale among Black troops tended to be low due to insufficient equipment and clothing, long tours of duty and lack of recognition by White officers and generals. Few Blacks had ever experienced northern wilderness living conditions such as those of the winter of 1942-1943, when record low temperatures reached -60 and -70 degrees Fahrenheit. In general, all military men were far less equipped, clothed and fed than civilian contractors, who continued to work during cold temperatures while the military units hibernated and tried to survive. Despite these hurdles, Black regiments constructed a large portion of the highway equal to standards of their White comrades. Fittingly, the last gap in the Alaska Highway was closed on October 25, 1942 with the meeting of a Black soldier from the 97th Regiment Engineers and a White soldier from the 18th Engineers, northwest of Kluane Lake, near the border of the Yukon Territory and Alaska. Former Lt. Alaska Governor Fran Ulmer stated, "Without the Black soldiers, the Alcan would likely never have been built in such a short time." (Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections.)
Still photo courtesy of PBS
"American Experience: The Alaska Highway"
(Other information taken from The Alaskan Highway - A Yukon Perspective website)
