Dawson Creek, Mile 0 of Alaskan Hwy

Dawson Creek is the stop for the day.       I have to give an abbreviated history lesson on this tremendous engineering feat called the Alaskan Highway or the Alcan Highway. I gathered this info from the book the Milepost:

The USA needed a road from the lower 48 to Alaska and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor it became a military necessity. President Roosevelt authorized the  construction on 2/11/42. The USA secured right-of-way through Canada in March. The agreement between the USA and Canada stipulated the US pay for construction and would turn over the Canadian portion of the road after the war was over. In turn, Canada furnished the right-of-way, waived import duties, taxes, immigration regulations, and provided construction materials along this route. A massive mobilization of troops from Company A, 648th Topographic Battalion occurred in March, and by June, 10,000 American troops were in the Canadian North. The general Alcan route, determined by the War Department,  was along the line of existing air fields from Edmonton, AB to Fairbanks, AK known as the Northwest Staging Route. Recon parties depended on local guides to help locate the actual routes. The troops worked 7 days a week, 16 hours a day, and endured mosquitoes and black flies in the summer and below 0 temps in the winter. Food was in short supply and the menu consisted of 3 pancakes, thin farina, and coffee for breakfast, Lunch, if there was lunch, was 2 quarter size hard biscuits, and dinner was fish and potatoes…and no cigarettes. By October vehicles could travel the entire length of the Highway. This road was built in 8 months 12 days!!! Truly amazing. And even more amazing after driving this road, seeing the dense forest, towering mountains, boulders, cliffs, and rivers that had to be conquered. One can only imagine how terrible it was to build this 1520 mile road.  This road has 133 major bridges and 3000 culverts, all built in 8 months 12 days! That is staggering! That World War II generation never ceases to amaze me and does deserve the title that Tom Brokaw gave… “The Greatest Generation”.