Johansen Expressway

Johansen Expressway
Woodrow Johansen Expressway
Route information
Length:	4.2 mi[1] (6.8 km)
Major junctions
West end:	University Avenue / Geist Road in College
	Old Steese Highway in Fairbanks
East end:	AK-2 (Steese Expressway) in Fairbanks
Location
Boroughs:	Fairbanks North Star
Highway system
Alaska Routes Interstate U.S. Scenic Byways

The Johansen Expressway (formally, the Woodrow Johansen Expressway) is an approximately 4.5-mile-long (7.2 km) expressway in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Johansen Expressway serves as a northern bypass to the city, and is notable for being the only highway in Alaska to have exit numbers.

History

Named the Geist Road Extension for most of its planning period, the highway was named in 1988 in honor of Hendryx Woodrow "Woody" Johansen (1913–1991).^[2] Johansen was a professor of civil engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and an employee of the Alaska Road Commission and the Alaska Department of Highways.^[3] As northern district engineer for the Department of Highways, he envisioned and designed the system of expressways which was built in the Fairbanks area between the 1970s and 1990s.

Route description

The Johansen Expressway is a four- to six-lane expressway in Fairbanks. Most of the expressway is built with four lanes of traffic and the capability to upgrade to six lanes. The expressway begins as a continuation of Geist Road at an intersection with University Avenue near the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. From this point it continues east as a four-lane expressway, passing through an interchange with Peger Road, providing access to commercial districts along Airport Way to the south. Johansen Expressway continues east, passing through an intersection with Danby Street, a major connection to residential areas to the north, and through a major interchange with College Road, providing a connection with Downtown Fairbanks and other outlying commercial and residential districts. After passing through two intersections leading to commercial developments, the Johansen Expressway ends at the Steese Highway, an old gold-rush route that leads to the town of Circle to the north.^[1]

Exit list

The entire route is in Fairbanks North Star Borough.

Location	mi[1]	km	Exit[4]	Destinations	Notes
College	0.0	0.0		University Avenue / Geist Road west	At-grade intersection; Continuation west as Geist Road
Fairbanks	0.6	1.0	2	Peger Road
	1.7	2.7	3A	Aurora Drive / Hanson Road	Westbound exit only
	1.8	2.9	3B	Danby Street / Depot Road— Alaska Railroad	At-grade intersection; Signed as exit 3B westbound
	2.7	4.3	4	College Road
	3.6	5.8		Hunter Street	At-grade intersection
	3.8	6.1		Old Steese Highway	At-grade intersection
	4.2	6.8		AK-2 (Steese Expressway) / City Lights Boulevard east – Fox, North Pole	Eastern terminus of freeway; Continuation east as City Lights Boulevard
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

See also

• Alaska portal
• U.S. Roads portal

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. Google (April 19, 2012). "Overview Map of the Johansen Expressway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
2. Alaska Legislature. "AS 35.40.030. Woodrow Johansen Expressway". Alaska Statutes. Alaska Legal Resource Center. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
3. Johansen, Woodrow. "Public Officials:Woodrow (Woody) Johansen". The Dalton Highway: A Multi-Media History of Alaska's Arctic Road. University of Alaska Fairbanks Media Repository. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
4. Fairbanks, Alaska (Map) (2009 ed.). 1 inch=0.53 miles. Cartography by Rand McNally. American Automobile Association (AAA). 2009. § F55-P54.