Alaska Route 2

Alaska Route 2
Elliott Highway Steese Highway Richardson Highway Alaska Highway
Route information
Maintained by Alaska DOT&PF
Length:	456.91 mi[1] (735.33 km)
Major junctions
West end:	Dead end in Manley Hot Springs
	AK-11 (Dalton Highway) at Livengood Chena Hot Springs Road in Fox AK-6 (Steese Highway) in Fox AK-3 (George Parks Highway) in Fairbanks AK-4 (Richardson Highway) in Delta Junction AK-1 (Tok Cut-Off Hwy) at Tok
East end:	Hwy 1 south (Alaska Highway) towards Whitehorse, YT
Location
Boroughs:	Unorganized, Fairbanks North Star
Highway system
Alaska Routes Interstate U.S. Scenic Byways ← AK-1 AK-3 →

Route 2, Delta Junction

Alaska Route 2 is a state highway in the central and east-central portions of the U.S. state of Alaska. It runs from Manley Hot Springs to the International Border, passing through Fairbanks and Delta Junction. Alaska Route 2 includes the entire length of the Alaska Highway in the state, the remainder of the highway being in the Yukon Territory and British Columbia , Canada.

Route description

Route 2 begins at a dead end near the Tanana River at Manley Hot Springs, where the Elliott Highway begins. Until the junction with the Dalton Highway (Alaska Route 11) at Livengood, Route 2 is a minor road used only for local access; beyond Livengood it carries traffic to and from the Dalton Highway. At the junction with Alaska Route 6 (Steese Highway) at Fox, the Elliott Highway ends and Route 2 follows the Steese Highway south into Fairbanks. The Steese Highway becomes the Richardson Highway at Airport Way, the former route of the Parks Highway (Alaska Route 3). The Parks Highway junction is now about a mile south along the Richardson Highway, which then leaves Fairbanks to the southeast. In Delta Junction, at the northwest end of the Alaska Highway, Route 2 leaves the Richardson Highway for the Alaska Highway, while the Richardson Highway continues south as Alaska Route 4. After passing the ends of the Tok Cut-Off Highway (Alaska Route 1) at Tok and the Taylor Highway (Alaska Route 5) just beyond, Route 2 becomes Yukon Highway 1 at the Canadian border.^[2][3]

Interstate Highway System

Route 2 is an unsigned part of the Interstate Highway System east of Fairbanks. The entire length of Interstate A-2 follows Route 2 from the George Parks Highway (Interstate A-4) junction in Fairbanks to Tok, east of which Route 2 carries Interstate A-1 off the Tok Cut-Off Highway to the international border.^[4][5] Only a short piece of the Richardson Highway in Fairbanks is built to freeway standards.

History

The Alaska Highway portion of Route 2 was once proposed to be part of the U.S. Highway System, to be signed as part of U.S. Route 97.^[6]

Major intersections

Borough	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Unorganized	Manley Hot Springs	0.00	0.00	Dead end
	Livengood	85.69	137.90	AK-11 north (Dalton Highway)	Southern terminus of Alaska Route 11 / Dalton Highway
Fairbanks North Star	Fox	153.86	247.61	AK-6 east (Steese Highway)	Western terminus of Alaska Route 6; Route 2 takes on the Steese Highway name
	Fairbanks			Chena Hot Springs Road	Interchange
				Farmers Loop Road
		162.94	262.23	Johansen Expressway west	Eastern terminus of the Johansen Expressway
		164.96	265.48	Airport Way west	Eastern terminus of Airport Way
		165.75	266.75	South Cushman Street	Interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		165.97	267.10	AK-3 south (Parks Highway) – Nenana, Denali Park	Interchange
		167.28	269.21	Lakeview Drive, Old Richardson Highway – Cushman Business Area	Interchange with at-grade intersection eastbound; no westbound entrance
		169.93	273.48	Badger Road	Interchange
	North Pole	177.50	285.66	Badger Road, Santa Claus Lane	Interchange
				Buzby Road / Dawson Road	Interchange
				Laurance Road	Interchange
	Salcha			Price Drive
Unorganized	Delta Junction	259.28	417.27	AK-4 south (Richardson Highway)	Northern terminus of Alaska Route 4
	Tok	366.91	590.48	AK-1 west (Tok Cut-Off Highway)	Northern terminus of Alaska Route 1
	Tetlin Junction	379.36	610.52	AK-5 north (Taylor Highway)	Southern terminus of Alaska Route 5
	International border	456.91	735.33	Hwy 1 east (Alaska Highway)	Continuation into Yukon
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

Plans

A 500-mile road reaching Nome in western Alaska has been proposed at various times. Such a road had been suggested as early as 1957.^[7] From 2009 onward, there has been a more intense political debate. A detailed cost investigation was funded by the state government, which gave an estimated cost of $2.3 to $2.7 billion, or approximately $5 million per mile.^[8][9] This price tag is higher than previously assumed. This has caused hesitation about the project. The debate is continuing in 2011.^[10] A 35-mile extension to Tanana, Alaska is expected to be finished end of 2015. As of August 2015, no decisions have been made to start construction of further parts.

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Northern Region General Log, April 25, 2006 (Routes 153000 (Elliott Highway), 152000 (Steese Highway), 190000 (Richardson Highway), and 180000 (Alaska Highway))
2. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, National Highway System Maps, April 2006
3. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Alaska Traffic Manual Supplement, January 17, 2003
4. Federal Highway Administration, National Highway System Viewer. Retrieved August 2007.
5. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Dwight D. Eisenhower Interstate Routes, April 2006
6. Robert V. Droz. "Alaska's US Highway(s)". Retrieved 9 October 2014.
7. Fairbanks Daily News 7/29/1957 – FCC drive for road to Nome, Highway 97, photos
8. COCKERHAM, SEAN (January 27, 2010). "Nome road could cost $2.7 billion". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
9. "WESTERN ALASKA ACCESS PLANNING STUDY CORRIDOR PLANNING REPORT" (PDF). January 2010.
10. $3 billion road to Nome debated at public hearings