A study of the Alaska Highway with special consideration of traffic potential for peace-time and war-time exigencies

Citation preview

A STUDY OF THE ALA.SKA. HIGHWAY WITH SPECIAL CONSIDERATION OF TRAFFIC POTENTIAL FOR PEACE-TIME AND WAR-TIME EXIGENCIES

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Commerce and Business Administration The University of Southern California

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Business Administration

by Captain Arthur J* Glasebrook United States Army August 1950

UMI Number: EP43297

All rights reserved IN F O R M A T IO N T O ALL U S E R S T h e quality o f this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be rem oved, a note will indicate the deletion.

Dissertation Publishing

UM I E P 4 3 2 9 7 Published by ProQ uest LLC (2 0 1 4 ). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQ uest LLC. All rights reserved. This w ork is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode

ProQ uest LLC. 7 8 9 East Eisenhow er Parkw ay P.O . Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 - 1 3 4 6

Cjw

s/

^ 6" ^

This thesis, written by Captain..Arthur...J^..Qla5. e t e Q o k .....

under the guidance of hjLS... Faculty Committee

arc*/

,

approved by a ll its members, has been

presented to and accepted by the Council on Graduate Study and Research in p a rtia l f u l f i ll­ ment of the requirements f o r the degree of

Date

AUaUS1..195Q.

Facully Committee

i L L ^ r Chairman

TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

PAGE

THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED . . . .

1

The problem • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • •

1

Statement of the problem. . . . . . • • • • •

1

Importance of the study

............

1

Definitions of terms u s e d .............. • • • •

2

Alaska Highway.

.........

Richardson Highway. . . . . .

2

..............

Steese Highway...........

2

Glenn Highway • • • • Tok Cutoff. Haines Cutoff

II.

• • • • • .........

............

. . . . .

3 3

THE PROBLEM INVOLVED IN DETERMINING THE NEED FOR THE ALASKA HIGHWAY.

..............

b

Military need • • * • • • • • • • • • • • . • •

b

Early plans . . * . . » • • •

b

Determining route

III.

2 2

.....................

Hart Highway. . . . .

2

................ • • • • • • • • • •

5

Road need for economic development* . . . . . .

6

Indecision as to military need...........

7

Reason for location

8

. . . . . . . . .

DIFFERENCES OF OPINION.......................... Good for one function

11

...............

11

Wrong location...........................

11

iii

CHAPTER

PAGE Alaska* s economic f u t u r e ............. . . • • . . 1 2 The western r o a d ...................

IV.

12

THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE HIGHWAY . . . . . . . . Improvements to the highway............

16 16

The scenic views • • • • • ....................... 16 Cost to travelers................ Many new bridges ................

19 . . . . . . . . 2 1

Bituminous surfacing..................... . . . . 2*f Tok Junction Cutoff Road

................. . . . 2 7

The Richardson H i g h w a y ........................ . 2 7 Highway maintenance. • • • • • • • . . V.

..........

HIGHWAY APPROACH R O A D S ................. West and Middle West Roads Hart Highway

.........

...............

28 30 30 31

Improvement of important connecting routes . . • . 31*Future business prospect • • • • • . • • • • • • • 3 ? VI.

THE ARCTIC AND OUR SECURITY.........

38

Russia’s early interest in the Arctic. . . . . . . Soviet interest in the Arctic. North Americans in the Arctic.

38

......... . . . . 3 8 ............... 39

Canadian - United States co-operation............. kO ’’Philosophy0 of Arctic operations. . . . . . . . . ^ l The Pole as a strategic center . . . . . . . . . . ^ P Military problems peculiar to the Arctic . . . . .

^

V

CHAPTER

PAGE Wartime supplies to A l a s k a ......... • . • • •

b5

Alaska freight lines . . . . . ............. *

*f6

Commercial trucking over Alaska Highway. . . .

5b

Pilferage. • • . . • • • • .

VII.

. . . . . . . .

5b

Future rates • • • • • • • • • • • • • . « •

5b

Perishables.............

55

Operations and equipment • • • • • • • . • •

55

Conclusions...............

58

Recommendations. • • • • • • • ..............

6l

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS........................

63

Accommodations on the highway.

.........

6b

Travel regulations • • * . . • • • • • » • • •

66

Car equipment and service....................

70

Bus service. • • • • •

••••

71

Telephone and telegraph service. • • • • • • •

?2

Future development of the highway and conclu­ sions.

.........

73

Water shipping industry to Alaska has problems

75

Trucking over Alaska Highway has future. . . .

76

Limiting factor of Alaska trucking trade . . .

80

General conclusions and recommendations. . . .

8l

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

..................................

85

APPENDIX.............................................

88

LIST OP TABLES TABLE I*

PAGE Engineer Requirements per Mile--Per Day of Gravel Highway

II.

.................................. 53

Average Maximum and Minimum Temperatures in Various Parts of A l a s k a ...........

65

III.

Alaska Highway Guide of Accommodations. . . . . . .

6?

IV.

National Canadian Revenue, Customs and Excise . . .

79

vi

LIST OF m a p s MAP

PAGE

1*

Alaska H i g h w a y ......................................10

2*

Western Route Connections* ........

3.

Map Showing Bituminous Surfacing

• • • • * • • •

ih

............. 26

b. Map of

Northern Terminus Connections * • • * « • • •

29

5* Map of

Hart Highway Construction • • • • • • • • • •

33

6* Map of

Southern Terminus Connections * . . * • • • •

36

7* Map Showing Accommodations on The Highway* • . . . .

69

vii

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS PHOTOGRAPH 1*

PAGE

Semitrailers Used on the Tacoma-Alaska Run being Unloaded at the Southern Terminal

2*

*+8

A Barge Load of Semitrailers Ready for Towing to Valdez*

3*

.

• • • • • • • * • • • • • • • • • • • •

*+9

Near Salchaket, Alaska about Sixty Miles South of Fairbanks, Alaska......... . Mile 2?2, Near Fort Nelson, British Columbia. * *

viii

60 77

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED For many years a difference of opinion has existed regarding the relative effectiveness, need, and possibility of a highway from the United States to Alaska*

The majority

of the claims made by the proponents of the systems have been based upon limited observations, and in no instance has experimental evidence been presented to support the conten­ tions of either side* I.

THE PROBLEM

Statement of the problem*

It is the purpose of this

study (1) to show the indecision for the necessity of the highway5 (2) to bring out the reasons why the highway was built, and Its present route; (3) to show present attitudes as to whether the highway should be kept up; and, (k) to point out the present condition and future possibilities of the highway* Importance of the study*

Millions of dollars have

been spent on the project and if a definite decision as to its worth and future use is not made, the deterioration of the present road without proper maintenance will be a total loss of the invested monies*

Whereas a study of the neces­

sary improvements and proper expenditures to build a 1

2 first-class highway and maintain it* could be an unmeasurable gain by taking advantage of and improving the already exist­ ing roads which would also help greatly in the development of Alaska proper, an accomplishment that has long been sought. II.

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED

Alaska Highway.

The general belief that the Alaska

Highway extends from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada, to Fairbanks, Alaska, is erroneous.

Actually, the Alaska

Highway extends from Dawson Creek, B. C. to Big Delta Junc­ tion, Alaska, a distance of 1,^33 miles. Richardson Highway.

This highway connects Fairbanks,

Alaska and Valdez, Alaska, a distance of 369*5 miles.

The

Alaska Highway runs into the Richardson Highway at Big Delta Junction, about 99 miles from Fairbanks. Steese Highway. A highway running from Fairbanks, Alaska to Circle, Alaska.

This road ends approximately fifty

miles from the Arctic Circle. Glenn Highway.

A connecting highway from Anchorage,

Alaska to the Richardson Highway, a distance of 192 miles. Tok Cutoff.

This is a connecting highway between the

Alaska Highway and the Richardson Highway, a distance of 153*3 miles.

This cutoff leaves the Alaska Highway at a

3 point 110.6 miles southeast of Delta Junction, Alaska.

The

cutoff connects with the Richardson Highway l^fO miles south of Big Delta, Alaska and 12.$ miles north of the Glenn Highway connection from Anchorage, Alaska. Haines Cutoff.

This highway is a coast line connec­

tion with the Alaska Highway.

It is l$*f miles long.

The

distance from Dawson Creek, B. C., Canada to Haines, Alaska is 1,17$ miles. Hart Highway.

This new highway, when completed, will

cut approximately 600 miles from the present highway route between Seattle, Washington and Alaska.

It will connect

Prince George, B. C., Canada with Dawson Creek, B. C., Canada•

CHAPTER II THE PROBLEM INVOLVED IN DETERMINING THE NEED FOR THE ALASKA HIGHWAY I.

MILITARY NEED

The construction of the Alaska Highway was the result of the military need for an overland route to Alaska and the necessity to service a chain of airfields that had been established along the route*

Its value to the normal develop­

ment of the great Territory to which it provides an additional means of access had long been stressed*

Its construction had

been urged by many of those most conversant with Alaska1s potentialities• Serious consideration of this project began in 1929* Prior to that time the possibility of such a project being carried through had been mentioned and discussed in a vague way by a number of people but no definite steps were taken 1 toward its accomplishments. II*

EARLY PLANS

In 1929? the International Highways Associations were formed for the purposes of advocating the project.

Congress,

Beport of the Commission to Study the Proposed High­ way and Other Roads in Alaska (!Washing ton* D* C.; United States Government Printing Office, 1933)> P» 6* if

in this same year, passed an act providing funds for adver­ tisement to make known the advantages of the project*

Along

with these events, the Government of British Columbia initi­ ated inquiries on the subject, and informal exchanges of views occurred between that government and officials in Alaska. A meeting of a Canadian Committee with American Com­ missioners was held in Victoria, British Columbia, October 9* 1931, for the purpose of jointly considering the desirability, feasibility, value, route, and cost of the proposed project. It was concluded unanimously that the project was feasible from an engineering and constructional standpoint, that sub­ stantial benefits would accrue from the project, but that more information was necessary before it could be definitely determined that the project was economically sound. III.

DETERMINING ROUTE

The proper route of the highway was a problem to con­ sider.

A road along the rugged coastline of British Columbia

and southeastern Alaska broken by glaciers and torrential rivers would obviously be enormously expensive, so considera­ tion of route was limited to the area of more favorable topography east of the coastal mountains. The service value of any highway is in some respects affected by seasonal conditions, and it is to be expected

that a road reaching so far into the northland might have a somewhat reduced value because of climatic conditions, and particularly because of heavy snowfall* IV.

HOAD HEED FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The climate, particularly in the winter, when rain, fog, snow and sleet are common, makes navigation in the approaches difficult and hazardous.

Even in favorable cir­

cumstances it took seven to eight days to transport material from Seattle to Fairbanks.

That a good case could be made

for building a road between the United States and Alaska, purely from the point of view of the economic development of the latter country, is made clear by the fact that a Commis­ sion appointed by President Hoover in 1930 reported favorably on the project, and in 1938 the Alaska International Highway Commission, made up of representatives of the United States and Canada, recommended that the road should be put in hand 2. at once. Advocates for the construction of the road did not fail to reinforce their commercial arguments by pointing out that it would be of great value in case of war.

Editorial, ttThe Alaska Highway,11 Engineering. 162: 110, August 2, 19*^.

7 V,

INDECISION AS TO MILITARY NEED*

In 1938, the War Plans Division of the General Staff concluded that from a purely practical standpoint the mili­ tary value of the proposed Alaska Highway was so slight as to be negligible.

Even on August 2, 19l*0, the Secretary of War

stated that the value of the proposed highway as a defense measure is negligible. In November, 19^0, an agreement was established between the United States and Canada for the construction of an air route.

Great difficulty was experienced in the build­

ing of the airports owing to their isolated situations; even when they were in operation they had to be serviced entirely by air#

By October, opinion had so changed that the Secre­

tary of War wrote, Mthe construction of the highway now 3 appears desirable as a long-range defense measure.*1 After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet was little protection to the merchant ships operating in that water.

Surface craft or submarines were detected off

the west coast of the United States and in Alaskan waters on forty-one occasions in December, 19^1* It Is stated by the Committee that, . . . if Japan had taken full advantage of the lack of United States forces, both military and naval,

3 Editorial, *‘The Alaska Highway,*1 loc. cit.

in Alaska during 19**2, there is little doubt in the minds of high military personnel, that* Alaska could have been fully occupied by the enemy. ^ The project for the construction of the road was approved on February 11, 19^2, and work was pushed forward with such urgency that the rough track, known as the pioneer road and passing through unsurveyed country, was completed in November.

This was widened, rectified where necessary,

surfaced and brought up to standard in 19^3• VI.

REASON FOR LOCATION

Due to the Japanese plane menace, the highway was located east of both Coast and Rocky Mountain ranges, instead of on the much shorter route west of the Rockies. In 19^19 Canada built a chain of air bases between Edmonton and the North, and when war came it became necessary to link these by road.

This was another reason for the

present location of the highway. As insurance, the #100,000,000 road was worth-while; it assured a flow of munitions to Alaska in safety, no matter what success the Japs had at sea.

But as a means of trans­

porting war material from Pacific Coast plants to Alaska bases, it has two drawbacks:

(1) It went more than a thou­

sand miles out of its way; and (2) with the Navy in command

h

Editorial, "The Alaska Highway,11 loc. cit.

9 of the eastern North Pacific, it was much simpler and cheaper to ship directly by sea from any coast port to any 5 Alaskan port*.

Jim Marshall, trouble on the Trail,11 Collier1s , 113 sl6+, January 15, 19 ^ K

M„m t m *', s i,*

S as KAT'CHB w a V

CHAPTER III DIFFERENCES OF OPINION I.

GOOD FOR ONE FUNCTION

The Alaska Highway is a great engineering achievement, perhaps the greatest of the war and in the brilliant history of the Army’s Engineer­ ing Corps• The Alaska Highway is not and never was planned as a route for troops and heavy supplies, since both can be moved to Alaska much more rapidly and economically by sea. Its chief function is to bring gasoline and other necessities to the string of big airports that stretch up through Canada to central Alaska. The road was started*when it seemed that our sea route to the north might be ^ closed by Japanese submarines and surface raiders. II.

WRONG LOCATION

Alaska Highway and the Canol petroleum and pipe­ line project in Canada cost $275,000,000, about half to each. A highway to Alaska was needed. It was not the army’s fault that the need turned out to be less urgent than it appeared when the road was planned. But it is somebody’s fault that the road was so located that it cannot be kept up. If there is ever to be appermanent road to Alaska it will not be this one.

1 William S. Howland, "Alaska Highway,” Life, 15*12, October 18, 19^3. 2

Editorial, "Very Expensive Experience,” The Christian CenturyT 62:3^9, March 28, 19^5*

11

12 III.

ALASKA'S ECONOMIC FUTURE

Of Alaska's economic future, little need be said, save to recall that its original purchase price of 17,200,000 has been returned thousands of times over by its exports of furs, timber, fish, gold, silver, platinum, copper, coal, and petroleum.

Often thought of more as a recreational area

than as an economic factor in the life of the nation, Alaska's agricultural possibilities have yet to be plumbed to their depths*

Wild life resources are estimated at

$100,000,000; the 19*+0 salmon pack was valued at $31,000,000; more than $26,000,000 worth of gold was mined in the same 3 year, and other products rank in big figures. The Alaska Highway in its past records moved 60,000 to 70,000 tons of war materials per month after its comple­ tion*

Thousands of trucks rolled all winter carrying sol­

diers and supplies to Alaskan posts. IV*

THE WESTERN ROAD

The best method to make the differences of opinion clear, as to the best route of the Alaska Highway with its access and connecting roads is to draw an A. the letter is Fairbanks.

The point of

The left leg runs south through

^ A. D. Rathbone, III, "New Key to the North," Scientific American, 160:262, June, 19^3*

13 British Columbia and down through Washington, Oregon and California.

The right leg goes south through Edmonton and

our Middle West and ends up eventually in Florida.

The

cross-piece of the A runs roughly from the Vancouver, B. C.Seattle-Taeoma-Portland area, northwest to Edmonton.

The

section of the left leg above the crossbar to the north point is not built, and that is the section the west would like to see completed. Because this section is not built, the route for war material from coast plants is a hindrance because it includes if a thousand mile detour far to the east. The new direct highway, Pacific coasters point out, would be an all-year road.

It has already been surveyed by

Army engineers as a possible route for a railroad to Alaska. It has ruling grades of less than two per cent; it is in a region of light snowfall and its highest point is only 3,300 feet. Jim Marshall states, "The present road, through Edmonton, has to climb two mountain ranges and is useless, 5 because of weather conditions, for months each year.11 British Columbia road experts say that between

** Jim Marshall, "Trouble on the Trail,” Colliers1, January 15, 19^. ^ Loc. cit.

ftA N D P * A I * t £

laPcidce CeoRCE

CLEOO

'Seattle MAP 2 WESTERN ROUTE CONNECTIONS

H •T

15 $15,000,000 and $18,000,000

would complete the proposed road

north from Prince George to a junction with the Alaska High­ way at Watson Lake.

There already is a road from southern 7 British Columbia cities to Prince George. If this were done, the distance from Vancouver, B. C., to Watson Lake would be 9^1 miles; the present route is 1,952 miles long. Former Secretary of the Interior, Harold L. Ickes,

made the following statement pertaining to the Alaska Highway. The tragic waste of war is deplored by most civilized peoples. Even to those whose profes­ sional careers are dedicated to the waging of war, its toll in property values, industrial plants, natural resources, and human lives is staggering. Instances are few when the instru­ mentalities of war can be made to serve a useful purpose in time of peace. The failure to take full advantage of such limited oppor­ tunities offered is as wasteful as the willful destruction of natural resources.y

Marshall, loc. cit. ^ The Cariboo Boad is in poor condition and would require additional construction. However plans have been made and finances allotted for construction in 1950 and 1951* Further explanation is given in Chapter V. O

Becreational Besources of the Alaska Highway and Other Hoads in Alaska (Washington. D. C.: United States Government Printing Office, 19Mf), p. v.

CHAPTER IV THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE HIGHWAY I.

IMPROVEMENTS TO THE HIGHWAY

The highway was first built on an 18 to 2b foot width through a minimum 32 foot clearing; it was later widened throughout its entire length to a 2b foot graveled roadway. Many of the pile trestles which bridge the many streams will be replaced by permanent structures.

The cuts, fills, and

grades are being improved from their wartime emergency status to the broader, safer, more conservative construction.**’ II.

THE SCENIC VIEWS

The road to Alaska was built in time of trouble, and its use immediately after the war was beset with trouble for travelers in the way of restrictions, regulations, and requirements.

Now that this fabulous highway has been thrown

open to all, without restrictions, it is expected that thou­ sands of tourists will travel north during vacation periods to see what Alaska and the Canadian Northwest has to offer tourists and camera fans, to nature lovers, and addicts of the spectacular.

2

1 A. D. Rathbone, III, "New Key to the North," Scientific American, 16o :262, June, 19^3 • 2 Herbert C. Lanks, "Alaska with Car and Camera,11 American Photography. ^3:1^5, March, 19^9*

16

17 The road has everything--placid lakes and raging torrents, glaciers fed by snow-capped peaks, and endless virgin forests.

Reports of 19^9 say that Edmonton, Canada

is the end of civilization when entering the Alaska Highway. Properly speaking, the Alaska Highway begins at Dawson Creek, the end of the railroad, some five hundred miles north of Edmonton.

The stretch between these two cities is sparsely

settled bush country, with settlements worthy of mentioning, largely limited to a few of the spots where the highway comes close to the railroad. of the highway.

Dust is one of the biggest headaches

Whitehorse is the only town of any size

between Dawson Creek and Fairbanks.

Today there is built, or

being built, at many trading posts along the way, roadhouses to care for the expected tourist trade.

Into Alaska many of

these roadhouses and overnight stopping places have a seasoned and settled look, as many of them date before the war, built partly in a sense of expectancy and partly to care for steam3 ship tourists who wanted to go to inland Alaska. Prices on canned goods are about the same in most of Canada, but as you get on up the highway where goods must be transported for great distances overland, prices are, of course, much higher. Military expediency, rather than scenic beauty, was

3

Lanks, loc. cit.

18 the criterion in surveying the route for the Alaska Highway. Though much of the southern route runs through uninteresting rolling hush country, the northern portion of the road is b increasingly interesting. North of Whitehorse, the road sticks close to the coastal ranges of the Canadian Rockies, skirts the shore of Lake Kluane for miles, wanders hy many other lakes, keeps in sight of snow-capped peaks on all sides, and has an interesting change of elevation.

Summit Lake,

south of Whitehorse, the high point of the highway, is at an elevation of over four thousand feet. Good roads run north and south from Fairbanks.

The

Steese Highway runs up to Circle, Alaska,, just short of the Arctic Circle itself.

South of Fairbanks, is the land of

glaciers and snow-capped peaks and into beautiful Matanuska Valley.

Nowhere else in the world can a motorist

drive to

the very tips of so many glaciers as onthe trip south over the Richardson and Glenn Highways. Miles below the Matanuska Glacier the valley widens into rich farmland.

Here all types of vegetables are grown

to unbelievable sizes from the rich soil5 abundant rainfall is, of course, partly responsible for this, but a greater factor is the long hours of daylight and the short nights which give the earth little chance to cool.-*

* Ibid., p. 1±6. * Ibid., p. 1^8.

19 III.

COST TO TRAVELERS

Accommodations can be obtained almost everywhere now along the highways of Alaska. unreasonable.

Prices are high but not

The North Pacific Planning Project, a branch

of the United States State Department, estimates that it will cost $91^ for two people or $1,365 for four people to drive from Chicago to Fairbanks, allowing about a month on the road. This covers food, lodging, operating expenses, repairs, and depreciation.

Gasoline in Alaska runs as high as fifty to

sixty cents per gallon, and at isolated points along the way north, as high as eighty cents per imperial Canadian gallon. The Alaska Highway, connecting Dawson Creek with Big Delta, is l,*{-33 miles long.

It is 26 feet wide, except for

the southern 75 miles, where it is increased to 36 feet. There is a gravelled surface throughout and motor vehicles can maintain an average speed of forty miles per hour over all sections.

The annual carrying capacity is estimated at

*{•00,000 tons, but it is considered that this could be raised to 720,000 tons under conditions of military pressure.

6

Con­

nections to the Alaska terminus of the road are reasonably satisfactory but it is stated that the feeder roads to the Canadian terminus at Dawson Creek are of poor quality and are

^ Editorial. “The Alaska Highway.“ Engineering• 162: 110, August 2, 19>+£.

20 unuseable during some parts of the year*

7

Hail connection

to Dawson Creek is, however, always available from any part of Canada or the United States* An agreement was made between the United States and Canada under which the latter country assumed control and maintenance of that part of the road lying in Canada on April 1, 19**6. The road is being maintained by Canadian civilians and soldiers under supervision of the Senior Engineer, Northwest Highway Service*

Modern maintenance practices

used by the United States Engineer Department and Public 8 Hoads Administration are being followed* There is a con­ siderable amount of new construction as well as heavy main­ tenance being performed on the road at the present time, especially in slide and glacier areas* The 30-foot gravel-wearing surface of the highway is in good condition except for several sections where loose gravel and occasional 3- and ^ i n c h stones make speeds over 35 miles per hour hazardous on tires*

The subgrade is firm 9 and dry, and the general location and alignment are good.

? This road is now under construction. 8 Harold E. Nelson, Lt. Col., C. E . , "The Long Trail Revisited,,f The Military Engineer (April, 19^7) 9 P* 153* 9

koc« cit*

21 Two extensive slide areas exist*

These are under constant

surveillance by maintenance personnel, but all sections are open for traffic. IT.

MANY NEW BRIDGES

Permanent bridges now replace the former temporary structures*

The Peace River suspension bridge at Mile 35 is

the most outstanding of all, stretching one-half mile in length with a 21*-foot concrete runway*

This was built in

19*+3 at- a cost of over $9 million by the United States Bureau of Public Roads*

The concrete work for the many piers

had to be executed at temperatures *K)° below zero*

The

structure was completed in a total construction time of 10 eight months, fighting ice and snow, wind and floods* The Muskwa River, three miles below Fort Nelson, is spanned by a beautiful new bridge 970 feet long, costing over $1 1/2 million*

Driving west of Fort Nelson across the

Kledo River and Rasberry Creek to Steamboat Mountain, one can hardly realize that it took almost superhuman effort to keep this road open in the spring of 19^2.

The Public Roads

Administration has provided a very beautiful relocation around Steamboat Mountain which provides a view of the

10

"Bridge,” Encyclopaedia America, 19h-8 edition, III, p. 511*

22 Muskwa River and the valley country all the way to the heart of the Rockies The mighty Liard River is the site of a new suspension bridge at mile ^96.

This bridge is 1,13** feet long and cost

about $3 million* The Upper Ranchina River Bridge was reconstructed by the 3*+lst Engineers in 19^3 (Mile 721*6) •

In 19^3 a new

Morley Bridge, a timber truss span replaced the old pile and crib structure at mile 777*

The half-mile Nisutlin Bay

Bridge at mile 802, constructed by a civilian contractor in 19^2, is an interesting structure*

Pony bents on timber

pile driven to 90-foot penetration were used to span this 12 large stream. At mile 837 there is a new high level bridge at Johnston’s Crossing, Teslin River.

This bridge is 1,770

feet long and has a high clearance to pass river freight boats*

Its cost was $1 1/2 million. The Haines eutoff road leaves the highway at mile 1015

and travels south through some of the most beautiful country in the North, to Haines Landing, Alaska.

Commercial possi­

bilities of this route have not been overlooked, and already trucking via this road offers a challenge to the currently

Nelson, 00* cit•, p. 159* Loc* cit*

23 high freight rates of the WP & YRR.

Lt. Col* Harold Nelson

states that: A surprise is in store for the traveler at mile 1,018 where a government experimental farm has been established. It is odd, but inspiring that on these beautiful poplar slopes one should suddenly find golden fields of grain and wellkept farm buildings. The outstanding results obtained by this farm further testify to the rich abundance of the Yukon.A3 From Burwash to Fairbanks are the greatest series of rivers and streams to be found on the highway.

Most of them

are glacial-fed rivers, with very wide stream beds and extremely low gradients.

Only a few hundred yards wide in

the summer, they become roaring torrents with the breakup of the ice in the spring.

The original pile structures have

been replaced with imposing modern bridges.

Nelson also

stated that: Names such as the Duke, Donjek, White, Robertson, Big Gerstle, Tanana, and Tok will long be remembered by the engineers as some of the greatest challenges they faced. Today all of these streams have been successfully bridged with modern steel structures except the Donjek, and plans are under way to replace the seven timber trestles and earth-fill causeways that aretcurrently used across this mile and a half stream. ^ The country north of the White River is for the most part permanently frozen ground, covered with heavy moss and short black spruce.

It was in this area that a winter trail only

13 Ibid.T p. 161. ^

Loo. eit.

A was completed in 19^2, later replaced with permanent-type construction hy civilian contractors.

Today this part of

the road is passable and dry, but some sections are very uneven and slightly rough because of the frozen subsoil con­ dition.

The last Canadian Maintenance Camp is located at

Snag Creek, mile 1,206, where Canadian customs officials are also located. Just beyond the Alaska-Canada border at mile 1,221, the highway leaves the moss and muskeg-covered valleys to climb into the poplar-covered hills along the Tanana River. Here the road has been surfaced with decomposed granite which has made an excellent wearing surface.

This was by

far the most outstanding piece of road on the highway until the bituminous surfacing was started.

Most remarkable of

the terrain features of this section are the tremendously large gravel terraces which in one case have permitted a 35-mile tangent. V.

BITUMINOUS SURFACING

At the end of the calendar year, 19^9j the Alaska Road Commission will have 118 miles of bituminous surfacing placed. This past season the Alaska Road Commission has completed by contract construction 67 miles of bituminous penetration sur­ facing consisting of prime and seal coats.

This construction

was from Tok Junction, Alaska, to Johnson River, Alaska.

25 Presently under contract construction are 97 miles of highway from Fairbanks, Alaska to Big Delta Junction, Alaska* The contractor has placed approximately 51 miles of plant mix bituminous surfacing on this portion of the highway. The remainder of this portion, including seal coat, will be completed by October 15, 1950*

At present, the plan is to

surface the section from the Alaska Border to Tok, Alaska in 1952, and that portion from Johnson River to Big Delta, 15 Alaska in 1953* (See Map Ho. 3 on the following page). Part of this surfacing is on the Alaska Highway and part on the Richardson Highway. The Alaska Road Commission is presently planning to rebuild at approximately its present location the Shaw Creek Bridge in early 1950.

In the summer of 1950, it is planned

to rebuild the Desper Creek Bridge.

Perhaps in early 1951

the bridge now spanning Scottie Creek will be replaced at its present location.

There is no plan for any revisions of

either line, grade or bridge locations on the Alaska Highway. That portion of the Alaska Highway which is in Alaska is not subject to any heavy snowfall, and the only hindrance to traffic that does occur is near the Shaw Creek Flats.

^ Letter from A. F. Ghiglione, Chief Operations Division, Alaska Road Commission, United States Department of the Interior, Juneau, Alaska, “Condition and Maintenance of Alaska Highway,11 December 8 , 19^9•

BITUMINOUS SURFACING

27 This obstruction to traffic is occasioned by the overflow of the spring run-off from the Tanana River into the low ground on which the Richardson Highway is built.

In this past

season, this section of the road has been rebuilt and it is believed that this condition has been remedied.

There are

no other conditions of weather or terrain which would be considered hindrances to traffic. VI.

TOK JUNCTION CUTOFF ROAD

At Tok Junction, mile 1,318, there is a cutoff road leading to Anchorage, Alaska.

American customs officials

and a northern commercial company store, along with tourist accommodations, are located here.

Big Delta, mile l,*f28,

marks the other leg of the ,4Yt4 connection to Anchorage, known as the Richardson Highway.

This is also the northern

terminus of that part of the highway originally constructed by Army Engineers.

The Alaska Road Commission constructed

the Richardson Highway which affords an excellent connection to Anchorage to the south and Fairbanks to the north.

This

is also of gravel surface, to be bituminous surfaced and seal-coated by October 15, 19?0. VII.

THE RICHARDSON HIGHWAY

The Richardson Highway is similar to the Alaska High­ way itself.

It passes along the eastern bank of the Tanana

28 River to Fairbanks, $+ miles away. Lt. Col. Nelson writes: Fairbanks at mile 1,522, is the metropolis of the inland empire of Alaska. It is a growing and busy city, the northern crossroads of the air and the northern terminus of the Alaska Railroad. As the supply, trading, and transportation center for the interior gold fields, it serves an area as large as the State of Texas. Both wages and the cost of living have risen since the construction of the A m y Air Base at Ladd Field, and there is a serious shortage of housing. Fairbanks is a modern city having a municipal form of government, motor­ ized fire department, fire-proof school buildings, theater. Federal Building, City Hall, bank, and hospital* The University of Alaska is a few miles west of the city.1€) VIII.

HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE

The Alaska Highway is considered a primary highway, and is maintained as an all-weather route.

Summer main­

tenance consists of regular frequent blading with motor patrols over the gravel surfaces, shoulder and side slope maintenance, brush cutting, culvert and ditch maintenance. Winter maintenance consists of snow removal, sanding local icy spots and prevention of glaciering by means of ice fences.

The Alaska Road Commission feels that the Alaska

Highway is very adequately maintained, and the traveling public is not subjected to poor traveling conditions during any portion of the year.

^

Nelson, o p . cit., p. 162*

Pa *
LEre& U aJoe^

Co*r**cr

3^ Width of right-of-way— 80 feet. Width of travelled way— 20 feet. Width, shoulder to shoulder— 28 to 32 feet clear of drainage.11' The East Pine River Bridge already completed on the Hart Highway in British Columbia is 700 feet long, with deck 18 feet wide curb-to-curb.

The roadway is 102 feet above

the stream, piers to support the continuous Pratt truss are 10 feet into the riverbed. III.

IMPROVEMENT OF IMPORTANT CONNECTING ROUTES

Continuing an aggressive program of road improvement which began several years ago, the British Columbia Depart­ ment of Public Works has made plans for expanded activity providing for capital expenditures of $30,000,000 for roads during the period of 19^9 to 1951 in addition to heavy bridge-building operations and regular road and bridge main­ tenance. The road connecting Vancouver, B. C. and Prince George, B. C. is known as the Cariboo Road.

This road is the impor­

tant connecting road to the Hart Highway for the shortcut route from Seattle to Dawson Creek.

Of the $30,000,000

allotted for the three-year road improvement in B. C., h

F. H. Fullerton, ,fHart Highway Links Alaska to Coast,11 Western Construction News, (January 19^8), 71*

35 $800,000 was spent on Cariboo Hoad in 19^9 •

(See May # 6 ,

page 36.) The sums allotted to the cutoff roads for 1950 and 1951 are as follows: 1950

Cariboo Road

1951

800,000

Hart Highway

1,200,000

Cariboo Road

1,000,000

Hart Highway V.

$

750,000*

FUTURE BUSINESS PROSPECT

The new Hart Highway, as the Pine Pass route is called in honour of British Columbia*s Premier John Hart, who started the project, will cut 600 miles from the present highway route between Seattle and Alaska, and offers an alternative route in event of disruption of steamship ser­ vices between ports in the west coast states and the north­ ern territory.

The British Columbia Government has already

reserved the passenger coach and freight trucking rights over the new route.

6

The possibility is being considered that

goods could be loaded in freight cars in California, Oregon, and Washington points and brought to Vancouver by the

5 Hon. E. C. Carson, Minister of Public Works for British Columbia, “Extensive Highway Construction Planned for British Columbia,” Roads and Bridges. 87s108, April 19^9 •

6

Fullerton, 0£. cit., p. 71*

36

V

Not Co

m p l e t e

MAP 6 SOUTHERN TERMINUS CONNECTIONS

37 Great Northern or Northern Pacific Railways*

From this

point, the cars could be shipped by railway barge

up Howe

Sound and proceed up the Pacific Great Eastern Railway 3^0 miles through central British Columbia to Quesnel, B* C* Here the freight could be transferred to motor trucks of the government-owned P. G* E. subsidiary for transfer over the new Hart Highway to Dawson Creek, and thence on up over the Alaska Highway to Hhite Horse, Yukon, and Fairbanks, Alaska* The British Columbia Government has already announced that approximately #2,000,000 will be spent during the current 7 year for the purchase of motor buses and trucks for the inauguration of a new passenger and freight service over this highway. Apart altogether from the international potentialities of the new highway, from a freight standpoint the Hart High­ way will provide access to central and coastal British Columbia for the vast coal resources, huge grain yields and the alfalfa and many other products of the Peace River Block, and will also make it possible for coastal firms to develop business with this section of British Columbia.

7

Fullerton, loc. cit.

CHAPTER VI THE ARCTIC AND OUR SECURITY Hardly any other part of the world deserves more attention and study than the Arctic*

General Carl Spaatz

once emphasized its importance by sayings

“The United States

is wide open at the top*11 I.

RUSSIA’S EARLY INTEREST IN THE ARCTIC

In the early l600’s, Russian merchant adventurers already were sailing east from the Murmansk and Archangel areas to the mouths of the Ob and Yenisei Rivers*

In 172*f,

Peter the Great employed Vitus Bering, a Danish sailor, to explore the northern coast*

It was then believed by many

that Siberia and America were joined at some unknown point. Before he died seventeen years later, on the island and in the sea named for him, Bering had proved that the continents are separated* Development of Siberia was encouraged by the comple­ tion in 1905 of the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

This reduced

the travel time from Moscow to Vladivostok from about one year to three weeks.

Soon, peasants began emigrating to the

vast farm lands east of the Urals* II.

SOVIET INTEREST IN THE ARCTIC

Russian efforts to develop an Arctic seaway were

38

39 renewed by the Soviet Government following World War I.

In

1920 alone, twenty-three expeditions were busy exploring and studying the Arctic.

Commercial voyages from Murmansk to the

Ob, Yenisei, and Lena Bivers became routine.

By 19**6, the

Russians were operating seventy-two meteorological stations in Arctic areas.

Since 19355 they have used aircraft as

reconnaissance patrols to aid sea navigation as well as for exploration of the Polar region.

In 1937? four Soviet

explorers were landed in large transport aircraft on an ice floe near the Pole.

The party stayed on the drifting ice

until February 1938 , when they were picked up near Jan Mayen off the east coast of Greenland.

Besides gathering informa­

tion on weather, the movement of ice floes, and the effects of Arctic electronics on radio communication, this party dis­ covered the ocean depth near the Pole to be 1^,075 feet. III.

NORTH AMERICANS IN THE ARCTIC

Until World War II, most Americans regarded the Arctic as little more than the domain of daring explorers and a good locale for adventure stories.

Although geologists knew that

the Arctic regions were rich in many resources, not much thought was given to exploiting them.

The transportation

problem, along with the belief that man could not survive in the Far North, discouraged positive action.

Anyone who

entered the Polar basin and returned was likely to be a popu­ lar hero.

His opinions on Arctic development were given

**0 polite attention and forgotten. The operation of wartime bases in the Arctic provided convincing proof that, given the proper clothing and equip­ ment, man can live in the frozen wastes. IV.

CANADIAN-UNITED STATES CO-OPERATION

Consideration of United States security in the Arctic naturally includes consideration of the security of Canada, whose coast line on the Arctic "frontier" is much greater than ours.

Even before World War II, security in the Arctic

was recognized as a mutual problem. In 1938, at Kingston, Ontario, President Roosevelt assured the people of Canada "that the people of the United States will not stand idly by if domination of Canadian soil is threatened.11 Prime Minister King of Canada expressed the Canadian policy that "enemy forces should not be able to pur­ sue their way, either by land, sea or air, to the United States across Canadian territory."**’ Canadians and Americans are working together on studies of the northern regions and on the testing of equip­ ment.

Detachments of our troops have visited the Canadian

winter testing grounds at Churchill, Manitoba.

D. C.:

Observers

Officers1 Call (Vol. I, Number 8: Washington 25, United States Government Printing Office), p. b*

bl from our air and ground forces were present at the Canadian exercise "Musk-Ox" a few winters ago*

Canadian observers in

turn have visited our bases in Alaska#

A number of weather

stations are manned jointly. In September 19^9, the joint Chiefs of Staff inspected military bases in Alaska.

At the same time, it was announced

that Canada and the United States will hold joint maneuvers in the vicinity of Whitehorse this winter.

Ground forces of

both countries will move into the Yukon region overland and by air and simulate a defense against theoretical attack across the Pole. V.

"PHILOSOPHY" OF ARCTIC OPERATIONS

If the climate and terrain at the top of the world were like that of better-known regions, the Arctic still would be a vital factor of United States security.

Moreover,

we would be certain that a military effort, on whatever scale necessary, would be feasible there.

But the Arctic is not

like other places and its military potential is not yet fully understood.

Consequently, Arctic experiments and exercises

have the common-sense purpose of increasing our knowledge about a vital security area that some day could become an important theater of operations. There are three opinions on Arctic military operations. One is that the Arctic is unsuited for military operations of

b2 any kind or degree.

Almost without exception, holders of

this view have a very limited first-hand knowledge of the region.

If they have visited the Arctic, it usually has

been during the most unfavorable season for military activi­ ties. Another opinion, at the opposite extreme, is that the Arctic is suited to any type and scale of military effort, once a few minor problems have been solved.

This view also

is likely to have its source in incomplete information, such as impressions gathered in the most favorable time of year and at a few Arctic locations. The third concept steers between these extremes.

It

holds that Arctic operations are feasible but discourages the early adoption of fixed beliefs as to their possible size, composition, efficiency, and exact operating methods. Holders of this view emphasize that there is too much still to be learned about the Arctic for fixed concepts to be desirable.

They prefer the open mind, the suspension of

judgment until vital facts are proved and the imagination to profit by the results of well-planned and purposeful experi­ ment. VI.

THE POLE AS A STRATEGIC CENTER

The “Polar Concept11 of warfare is based on the reason­ able assumption that, in a future war, aircraft would seek their targets by the most direct routes.

A few minutes*

**3

study of a globe or polar projection map makes it clear that such routes, between most nations in the Northern Hemisphere, cross the Polar or Arctic regions. Thus, it hardly can be overemphasized that scientific advances have removed the last barrier (and its cushion of time and distance) which, until recently, had protected the continental United States throughout its history.

The

increased range and destructive power of modern bombers, probably more than any other factor, have made the Arctic one of the keys to our security.

This region still provides

no easy highway for overland attack upon North America. Ground operations against any Arctic areas vital to our security could be contained with minimum organized resist­ ance.

The Arctic still is not, of itself, a major political

objective of any world power, and its immediate economic possibilities are minor compared with those of other rela­ tively undeveloped areas of the world. The strategic importance of the Arctic, therefore, is based primarily upon its status as a possible avenue of air power.

It is this alone which shapes the possible future

missions of the Army, and of all our forces, in that region. Details of plans for the employment of United States forces understandably are kept highly classified.

We can

assume, however, that these plans include the necessary measures to counter the known capabilities of a potential

IfIf

aggressor, and to project adequate counteroffensives of our own. Army troops can expect to be assigned missions common to those in any theater— construction, maintenance and defense of bases, operation of early warning stations, and provision of mobile forces. VII.

MILITARY PROBLEMS PECULIAR TO THE ARCTIC

The basic principles of military operations tend to remain constant.

It is the means of applying these principles

which vary sharply under varying conditions.

The difference

between Arctic operations and those conducted elsewhere stems from the conditions of climate and terrain which have been described earlier.

Climate and terrain (singly or combined)

cause most of the difficulties and afford some of the advan­ tages that feature Arctic military operations.

They are the

ever-present factors that challenge men and machines and determine their ability to function effectively. This kind of challenge is not new in our military history.

In World War II alone, we met and conquered strange

conditions of desert and jungle operations.

Climate and

terrain were big problems in these operations as they are in the Arctic.

The difference is that the Arctic has another

kind of climate and another kind of terrain.

It is the same

basic challenge with a new set of circumstances.

**5 VIII.

WARTIME SUPPLIES TO ALASKA

Support of the Alaska Theater could bring problems of necessary use of highway operation only, predicated on the interruption of water routes due to enemy submarine packs in the Gulf of Alaska or other neutralizing forces.

It is esti­

mated that the tonnage requirement of 6,000 short tons per week would adequately support an Infantry or Airborne Divi­ sion in the theater. We have made delivery to the interior of Alaska points overland or partially overland by five routes: 1.

Seattle to Dawson Creek by rail, thence Interior

Alaska by truck. 2.

Seattle and Great Palls to interior Alaskan

points entirely by truck. 3.

Seattle to Prince Rupert by rail, thence barge to

Haines, Alaska, thence truck to interior Alaskan points. b*

Seattle or Tacoma by commercial vessel to Haines,

thence trucked to interior Alaskan points. 5.

Seattle or Tacoma by commercial vessel to Valdez,

thence trucked to interior Alaskan points. At present delivery is being made to

interiorAlaskan

points on a through rate as follows: 1.

From Seattle Port of Embarkation

toDawson Creek

by rail, thence to Fairbanks by truck. 2.

By vessel to Valdez, thence overland by truck

k6 (in vans sealed at Seattle and opened only upon delivery at interior Alaskan points). 3.

By truck from Great Falls, Montana to Fairbanks,

Alaska. IX.

ALASKA FREIGHT LIMES

Alaska*s long and vexing problem of rising freight shipping costs from state-side is now being attacked from a new angle— "trailershipsf*.

The Alaska Freight Lines have

ventured into a new freighting idea of hauling Alaskan cargoes north in seagoing trailerships, with the freight trailers being loaded anywhere in the United States, brought to Tacoma by truck tractor and then loaded bodily with their freight onto the trailerships.

Arriving in Valdez, the loaded

trailers will be set on the dock and truck tractors, owned by the company, will pull them to destination over the Richardson Highway. The shipping company has withdrawn the first trailership, Asa Lathrop, from the freighting venture and have sub­ stituted large barges carrying eighteen vans each, which are towed to Valdez by tugboats.

The barges are proving much

more economical to operate and eliminated the dangers of dry ice used in the vans which in a recent tragic accident killed 2 three longshoremen working in the hold of the Asa Lathrop. ^ Letter from A. R. MacPherson, Author, "Sea-Going Trailers for Alaskan Trade," June 27* 1950.

^7 Future growth of the company is dependent on develop­ ment of more government business and commercial business in the very near future.

Even with some increases in govern­

ment business they will not be sufficient in peace time for great expansion or even for mentioned life of the company, since the rates on freight movement must be lowered.

With

this thought in mind the owner of the company has organized a subsidiary company, which runs ships and barges from Tacoma, Washington to Alaskan ports principally Valdez. barges haul loaded semitrailers. following page.)

The

(See photograph on the

The development of more business into

Alaska and backhaul from Alaska is a vital need for this company.

This requirement is another reason why the Alaska

organization is the major part of the freight line. The equipment of the company is based on the location of its operation.

It uses 300-horsepower Hall Scott gasoline

engines in its Kenworth trucks.

Initially the power plant

was diesel but the extremes of low temperatures caused fuel problems and the shift to gasoline was made at considerable cost.

However this past winter an experimental Cummins NBHS 3 engine has been installed in a vehicle. It has had two

principal modifications to fit it for Alaskan work.

The

coolant is circulated through a pipe in the fuel tank and

^ Interview with Lt. Col. Loren Ayers, May 25* 1950.

PHOTOGRAPH 1 SEMITRAILERS USED ON THE TACOMA-ALASKA RUN BEING UNLOADED AT THE SOUTHERN TERMINAL -r

00

PHOTOGRAPH 2 A LARGE LOAD OF SEMITRAILERS READY FOR TOWING TO VALDEZ

£

50

prevents the paraffin from forming which had been plugging up the fuel system*

Starting after standing in the cold was a

second problem that was solved by using an auxiliary quick starting fuel*

In addition the engine has a dynamatic fan

controlled by a thermostat*

“ When the engine temperature

reaches a certain point the fan is cut into operation* is also a manual control for this fan*

There

These features make

for better engine performance in the extreme cold*

Heavy

pulling needed in winter and over the mountains requires extra gear boxes.

Two auxiliary transmissions are used,

giving twelve forward gears.

It allows the maximum engine

power to be obtained when traversing ice, snow or heavy going.

It adds to the ability of the vehicle to negotiate

slippery grades because the driving wheels turn slowly but with proper engine RPM. the wheels*

This reduces the slip tendency of

All vehicles in winter carry Elston electric

sanders as well as chains, of the three rail type. Load limit regulation for the Alaska Territory was first published in December 19^9*

This will affect the type

of equipment used by the company.

At present both ^5* and 3*f'

semi-trailers are in operation.

Most of them are van type

and insulated so they can be used as either heated or refrigerated vehicles.

The company has purchased at great

expense Thermo King heat and refrigerator units.

But in

winter operations have found that charcoal burners are the

51 best means of protecting sensitive cargoes from the low tem­ peratures.

Sometimes as many as three burners are used in

a forty-five foot semi-trailer. axle with dual tires.

The trailers are all two-

Both Fruehauf and Brown are used.

Twenty short tons is considered a good payload for the equip­ ment. It should be noted that there are several available routes for the movement of freight to Alaska from the zone of the interior using a combination of means of transportation. 1. States.

All highway travel is possible from the United Two good routes are available from Seattle, but they

join near Edmonton, Canada and, of course, there is only the one Alaska road from Dawson Creek.

When the Hart Highway is

completed the joining point will be further north at Dawson Creek.

The Canadian roads up to Dawson Creek are not as good

as either the United States or Alaskan roads. routing this way costly.

They make

Three thousand miles of highway

and through three Canadian provinces is so expensive an operation that this routing is the poorest from a commercial standpoint of all the routings available.

Yet it is the one

the Armed Forces are most interested in having developed because of need for a supplementary route to the water route. 2.

A rail highway combination is useable.

Dawson

Creek is the northernmost point on North American rail lines. However, here again we find freight moving through Canada by

52 both rail and highway*

Though the highway part is better

than in (1) above, still there is an additional handling required and also the rail service is not of the best especi­ ally as to time for perishables. 3*

Water from Seattle to Haines and highway to the

interior of Alaska is another combination that is used.

The

water route is a protected one in that it does not have to travel in the open sea.

We still have the travel through

two Canadian provinces and also the route is closed over the highway in the winter.

Except for the latter two drawbacks

this is a good haul commercially if the trailer barge is used for the water portion of the routing. *f.

Routing four seems to offer at present the best

possibilities for Alaska Freight lines.

It is a water route

from Tacoma, Washington to Valdez, Alaska via trailer ship, then all-Alaska road to the interior over the Thompson Pass which has now been kept open this winter for the first time in history.

This routing is being used almost exclusively

as it is the best for time and costs.

But it does not meet

the Armed Forces requirement since the water route is through the open sea lanes in the Gulf of Alaska and therefore too vulnerable to be satisfactory. On the following page Table I gives the engineering requirements per mile per day of gravel highway.

53

TABLE I ENGINEER REQUIREMENTS PER MILE PER DAY OF GRAVEL HIGHWAY*

Weather

No. of Men

Tons of Material

3-Ton Truck Loads

6

2

1

Rainy

12

3

1

Cold, freezing and thaw­ ing

16

16

6

Spring thaw

80

80

27

250

80

17

Dry

Rainy under shell fire »Jc

These requirements exclude the necessary supervisory personnel.

X.

COMMERCIAL TRUCKING OVER ALASKA HIGHWAY

Truck shipments are regularly delivered from Great Falls, Montana to Fairbanks, Alaska on the eighth day after departure*

Obviously, no combination of rail and water

transportation can approach this service*

In addition, truck­

load shipments are picked up and delivered door to door. Pilferage*

Pilferage of cargo is presently unknown

in so far as the truck operators are concerned*

Van semi­

trailers may be locked and sealed for the entire trip except for customs inspection if required.

Unhappily, some commer­

cial shippers have suffered considerable losses when shipping via a water route.

Port delays have caused some loss through

spoilage. Future rates*

Truck rates presently in effect are

constructed with a pessimistic outlook as regards the possi­ bility of a back-haul.

In order to induce a back-haul, half

rates are given on loads moving to rated points in the United States. Classification of commodities as accomplished by the Consolidated Freight Classification of the American railroads and truckers has little effect on the rate structure of com­ mercial trucking to Alaska.

The main requirement is, of

course, the protection of the 18,000 pound minimum weight. Undoubtedly the future will bring some sort of imitative

freight classification. If regular service could he established with assur­ ance of regular back-hauls, it is certain that present rates could be materially adjusted. Perishables. during all seasons.

Foods can move over the Alaska Highway Reefer vans are available and this ser­

vice can be readily expanded but not so fast as general cargo. Vans are used the year around. keep them from freezing.

Eggs must be kept warm to

In the summer, both meat and eggs

as well as vegetables must be kept cool.

There is no problem

readily apparent in moving vegetables. Operations and equipment.

Great emphasis has been

placed upon the proper engine oil and other lubricants for cold weather operations.

The tendency seems to be toward

lighter oils and lubricants for easier heating and starting. This tendency appears questionable in the light of commercial experience between Great Falls and Fairbanks.

Light oils of

from 5 to 10 weight SAE become extremely fluid at the proper engine operating temperatures which range between 160 and 175 degrees. range.

Peak engine performance can be expected in this However, 5 or 10 weight engine oil at this tempera­

ture and under heavy pulling seems to be too fluid to give proper lubrication. 1.

Fuel.

Regular gasoline is apparently sufficient

56 for cold weather operations.

There is some possibility of

water in the gasoline and moisture condensation within the tank.

This problem may be solved by the addition of approxi­

mately one pint of methanol base gas fluid for each 75 gallons of gasoline. 2.

Engine Temperature.

Radiator covers are a neces­

sity at temperatures below 20 degrees below zero if peak engine performance is desired.

A better solution is the use

of thermostatically activated radiator shutters which open and close according to the necessity for cold air intake. Performance is markedly increased especially after dragging down a long grade and starting up another grade at the proper engine temperature. 3*

Sanders.

Sanding equipment which throws abrasive

sand beneath the driving wheels and beneath trailer wheels is a necessity for heavy equipment, especially where net loads are in excess of twelve short tons.

For cold weather opera­

tions, a ground slag, treated to prevent collection of mois­ ture and consequent clogging and freezing of outlet valves, is preferred.

Sanders should be checked and tapped lightly

at each halt and before starting to insure each halt and before starting to insure proper operation and free flowing of sand. *+.

Air Brakes.

The bleeding of air pressure tanks

at daily or more frequent intervals is not entirely

57 satisfactory# removed*

It appears that the moisture is never entirely

A better solution is the addition of an accessory

which is filled with alcololand which sprays a small bit of alcohol into the compressor outlet line upon each application of the brakes*

One pint of alcohol was sufficient for 2,500

miles of driving.

There was no icing trouble with the brakes.

Captain Kinkead in his report of equipment used by the Bice Truck Lines said, At no time between Great Falls and Fairbanks was it particularly necessary to have available front axle drive. It might have helped now and then but it never appeared to be an essential item of equipment. In connection with driving axles, my trip was made in single axle drive International K8, *+50 cubic inch engine, BrownLipe 3 speed auxiliary transmission, 32 foot, flatbed trailer, total about ¥+,000 pounds gross, about 2*+,000 pounds net load. It was necessary at times to apply sand to the driving wheels when pulling steep grades and gears were chosen care­ fully at the bottom of a grade to insure no tfspinning out1* or stalling. Such activity requires a skilled driver, a driver far above average for satisfactory performance with single axle drive over such roads. Tandem (2 axle) drive would be preferred, but the gross weight limit in Alberta closed this possibility if one wished to haul a payload at a near reasonable rate. Single axle drive requires a skilled driver, trained better and with more experience than we could reasonably expect in mass quantity under mobilization.

Tandem (2 axle)

drive is most satisfactory and requires less driver skill than single axle drive.

Mass military truck operation over

such roads would require tandem axle drive on trucks from 2 1/2 tons upward.

53 XI.

CONCLUSIONS

Commercial or military operations on a large-scale are possible from Great Falls, Montana, to Fairbanks, Alaska. However, a constant study should be continually made to ascertain the most economical, shortest and best route to supply Alaska. There is no doubt that studies have been made on the proper weight oils for cold weather operations but special care should be taken that oil weight is not determined on starting ease only, but also the lubrication factor to the vehicles under heavy operating conditions. In cold weather, methanol base fluids should be mixed with gasoline to guard against water and the condensation of moisture in fuel tanks. Sanders are essential for single axle drive trucks operating on roads similar to those shown in photographs. Sanders are very helpful with tandem (2 axle) drive trucks. Mass military truck operations over such roads would require special study as to the effects on Icing conditions to the roads. Driver training is very necessary in the care of the individual under cold weather operations as well as special training in the care of his vehicle and special driving instructions.

59 Thermostatically operated and controlled radiator shutters are to he preferred over radiator covers and manu­ ally operated shutters. With the exception of April and May the highway is operationally sound the year round and presents no more difficulty to transport operation than that faced each winter in some of our northwestern states. Maintenance is costly, but in an emergency, funds being readily available, the highways could be maintained adequately the year round. Bottlenecks due to slide areas, snow drifting, bridges washing out and other highway troubles could be handled by Army Engineers to keep the road open for heavy traffic in time of emergency# In summarizing the over-all highway capacity, it is estimated that the lowest capacity of 500 - 1,500 tons per day can adequately meet the daily movement forward of 858 short tons per day, or 6,000 short tons per week provided adequate highway maintenance is available. The limiting factor of a ton*s average per day over the highway during an emergency would be a limitation set by Movement Control to prevent highway congestion rather than highway condition. Movements Control Division is a staff division of the Chief of Transportation in a Theater of Operations, which

jStffr

PHOTOGRAPH 3

Near Salchaket, Alaska about sixty miles south of Fairbanks, Alaska* Picture taken by Captain W. W. KinKead, U, S. Army Transportation Corps, February 1950. When temperatures get down below 30 degrees below zero, the snow is abrasive like sand. Chains are not needed except during the Spring break-up. Temperature when picture was taken was ^1 degrees below zero.

61

will receive from higher authority the priority for movement of personnel and supplies and will allocate such movements to the available operating agencies for actual movement. This will specify WHAT is to be moved, WHEN it is to be moved, WHERE it is to be moved and WHICH type of transportation will be used. XII.

RECOMMENDATIONS

That a study be made of all available commercial trucks in the Northwest Area with definite information as to the ability of the equipment to haul over the Alaska Highway, for use in case of emergency. That a definite plan be drawn for the immediate set-up of a Movements Control Division for the Alaska Highway and connecting highways in case of an emergency. That a study be made of and plans drawn for the neces­ sary distribution and storage of petroleum, oil and lubri­ cants, properly camouflaged along the Alaska Highway, in case of emergency. That a study be made of the available buildings along the Alaska Highway and plans drawn for the set-up of mainte­ nance shops, barracks for personnel and division points for convoys, where in time of emergency work could be started immediately. That a decision be made from the information gathered

62 from commercial trucking companies operating over the Alaska Highway as to the proper type of equipment to he used and plans made for the obtaining of this equipment. That arrangements be made with the Canadian Government for conferences with that country and the United States to determine factors of entrance, rates and weights of the high­ ways leading into the Alaska Highway for peace and wartime use.

CHAPTER VII

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The Alaska Highway is an international highway. has a good surface and it is well maintained.

It

It is a

definite conclusion that access roads are being built of a similar construction to that of the highway.

It probably

will only be a matter of time until it will be possible to travel comfortably from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, or Valparaiso, Chile by highway. Obviously, few motorists ever are going to travel from the lower end of the southern hemisphere to the Arctic circle for business or pleasure.

It is possible to travel from

Seattle to Boston over United States highways, but few do. Yet no one will argue that there is no need for a transcon­ tinental route. It is about as far from Edmonton, B. C. to Fairbanks, Alaska, as it is from Great Falls, Montana, to New York, N. Y. Since the Alaska Highway starts at Dawson Creek, B. C. rather than Edmonton, the situation is similar to that which would prevail if the improved section of a Great Falls - New York highway stopped at Glasgow or Wolf Point. The full value of the Alaska Highway then, cannot be realized until suitable access roads are created.

But there

is no doubt that it would be an international tragedy if the

63

6kAlaska Highway were to be allowed to deteriorate pending the completion of the access roads, because the incentive to construct access routes would diminish as it became evident that the existing route was losing its value. Alaska is not a land of snow, ice and igloos.

It is

in the same latitudes as Scotland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

Its interior climate is similar to that of Montana,

Minnesota and Maine.

The southern coastal areas are warmed

by the same ocean currents that pass San Francisco and Seattle. With its high mountains (Mt. McKinley, 20,300 feet) and mighty rivers (Yukon, 2,300 miles), Alaska is a land of superlatives. a hundred.

For the one Yosemite of California, Alaska has

The mountains and glaciers of the Rockies are

duplicated and a thousand-fold exceeded in Alaska. With the growth of air transportation, the advent of the Alaska Highway and increased summer cruise ships, Alaska has become accessible to every American.

Long known as

America’s Last Frontier of pioneering, Alaska is now becoming America’s First Frontier of play and adventure. On the following page is shown a Temperature Table taken from the records of the United States Weather Bureau. I.

ACCOMMODATIONS ON THE HIGHWAY

The highway cuts mainly through unsettled areas for­ merly inaccessible except by dog sled, by plane or by river

TABLE II AVERAGE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES IN VARIOUS PARTS OF ALASKA FROM RECORDS OF THE UNITED STATES WEATHER BUREAU

Month

Anchcrage • • £ X •H

s

•

>

•

>

Fairbanks Ganbell • • • • £ £ « j •H

«! -19

• > 9

$! • >

• >

Ketc]bekan Kotzebue i * • + • £ X X £ •H •H

1 • >

,

6

- 9

ii

- if

• >

...

..—

39

•

£ a

1! • >

•

2^

•

X

Nort hwav • • £ X CU

s • >

>

32

Nome

• >

January

19

February

27

10

11

-10

8

- 2

35

26

ifl

29

6

- 9

13

- 2

9

-12

March

33

i 1*

23

- %

8

- 2

39

29

ifif

51

3

-l*f

17

1

20

- 7

April

27

k2

17

22

12

^7

35

50

35

20

- 1

27

16

39

11

May

36

59

35

3^

26

55

>tO

57

*fO

35

20

28

58

33

71

>t6 **■3

35

62

63

k6

W

36

53

38

69

^5

June

62

July

65

*+9

72

W

August

6*f

b8

66

M+ M-9

September

56

39

5k

33

October

**3

29

35

November

29

16

ll

December

20

6

1

6*f

50

65

50

60

bS

56

ifif

69

^9

if2

62

“+9

66

51

52

bZ 56

Mf

6b

^3

Ll Il

rr

38

56

b5

61

>*7

^5

35

b8

36

51

33

18

35

29

W

39

52

kl

32

23

35

2k

^3

22

- 5

26

20

*K>

32

if5

35

8

- 9

22

10

-16

12

if

35

27

ifO

31

3

-12

l*t

1

^9

5 -15 -10

-28

66

routes in summer.

Most of the country between the infrequent

small settlements is wilderness with few signs of life. These settlements, together with the occasional mining pro­ jects and highway construction camps, furnish the only human contacts along the road. Distances between stores, repair facilities and over­ night accommodations are great.

The only solution to the

present problem of accommodations is the careful considera­ tion of comfortable days1 drives, so that the motorist stages himself over the length of the highway in daily trips that will bring him each afternoon to points where there are the more desirable establishments. Several free campgrounds have been established for the convenience of those equipped for camping, carrying their own food and supplies.

In addition to an area for the erection

of tents, the grounds provide cooking and dining shelters equipped with stoves and tables.

Existing roadside facili­

ties have been spotted on the strip maps following. II.

TRAVEL REGULATIONS

Permits to travel on the Alaska Highway no longer are required.

United States citizens passing through Canada to

Alaska do not have to present passports but must fulfill the usual customs requirements. proof

of citizenship.

Foreign-born citizens must bring

67 TABLE III ALASKA HIGHWAY GUIDE OF ACCOMMODATIONS Mile 0 *+9 52 101 14-7 171 201 232 300 392 397 k-23 *+56 533 620 63k 710 733 777 80*+ 836 8*+3 872 883 918 97k 996 1013 1022 1083 109*+ 1156 ll8*f 1206 1221.*+ 1226 1270 1306 1318 l*+28 11+58 1523

Location

Services and Facilities

Dawson Creek H S M G R T Fort St. John H S M G R Charlie Lake M G M G T Blueberry Beat ton River, S M G R Mason Creek H M G R Trutch M G R T S M G C Prophet River Fort Nelson H S M G R T Summit Lake H G R T Rocky Mountain Lodge S M G R Racing River M G Muncho Lake M G T Coal River H M G R T Lower Post H S M G R Watson Lake H S M G T Rancheria M G Swift River G T Morley River H M G R Teslin H S M G Porslid’s M Silver Dollar H M G Judas Creek C M G Marsh Lake H M G Whitehorse H S M G R T S Champagne Canyon Creek M G R T Haines Junction Cg S M Bear Creek Destruction Bay T Burwash Landing H S M G R T Koidern Dry Creek H M G Snag Canadian Immigration Canada-A la ska Boundary S G Scottie Creek Northway S G T Forty Mile Junction H M G R Tok Junction U. £ Immigration M G S Big Delta M G T Richardson M G R Fairbanks 1H S M G R T

Beds ’“ 5 K T 130 b 30 10 20 70 30 6

lb bo bo 30 22

lb 10 16 10 30 - 100 )1 l!+ 1+ *+0 1+0

!+0

68

TABLE III (Continued) ALASKA HIGHWAY GUIDE OF ACCOMMODATIONS

Mile

27 63 73 101 133 135 137 l5*f 181 209 22^ 227 259 276 289 336

Location

Services and Facilities From Tok Junction to Anchorage Log Cabin Bear Cub Slana Junction Sinona Creek Gakona Big Timber Gulkana Glen Allen Tazlina Glacier Eureka Sheep Mountain Meekin’s Chickaloon Alpine Palmer Anchorage

H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H

M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M

G G G G S S S S G G G G G G S S

R R G G G G R

G R G R

EXPLANATION: Hotels - H; Stores - S; Meals - M; Gas - G; Repairs - R; Cabins - C; Camp Grounds - Cg; Telegraph-Telephone - T*

MAP 7 'ac l o h n o j> A T io n s

I5 » 0

I42B.6

1329

I3 I» L

11A5

tttl

120C

U S4

KM»

1014

m

tli

nr

on

no

th e

69

A la s k a H ig h w a y

t3S

120

5M

406

456

3«2

300

162

101

40

«

Fa ir b a n k s

F T N E L jSI n

1 Delta

7m WHITEIIORSE

EDMONTON

J & O T *L S -.H ___

Sto k e s - s ____ ICHOR* p ft it t 1

c^n

Prince George

R b p a ia s - f t .......

.C a a m v - C

£A«P«6UAB5-Cg f i l l PHOHf -~fcLECgAPH -T .

NOT TO SCALE

70 Customs inspection also includes an estimate of the entrant’s ability to take care of himself financially while in Canada*

Inspection'officers must be satisfied that

entrants are in possession of sufficient funds to maintain themselves during their stay in Canada, and to meet any obli­ gations that might arise. The use of trailers and cabin trailers is permissible* However, the use of heavy trailers in conjunction with passen­ ger cars is not recommended, owing to difficulties which might be encountered on some of the longer grades. III.

CAR EQUIPMENT AND SERVICE

Travelers cannot expect assistance in matters of food and shelter nor of automotive repairs from the highway main­ tenance camps.

Service along the highway in the way of

repair stations is sufficient for the driver operating good equipment over the long trek to Alaska.

However, the follow­

ing is considered necessary equipment for all vehicles;

two

mounted spare tires and tubes, spark plugs, fan belt, light fuses, tire gauge, car tools, tire pump, tow rope or cable, and a first-aid kit.

A spare five gallon can of gas will

serve to supply peace of mind. For winter driving, automobiles must be prepared for extreme cold weather operation.

Vehicles should be in good

operating condition and be equipped with anti-freeze, rear

71 wheel chains, heater, defroster and radiator grille covers. Winterizing with light oils and greases is necessary and the use of a fuel additive to prevent frost and ice in the fuel system is recommended.

Travelers should he equipped with

sufficient heavy winter clothing and foot gear to protect them from the weather in case of breakdown, stall, or acci­ dent. IV.

BUS SERVICE

There is now regular scheduled bus service from Dawson Creek, B. C. to Fairbanks, Alaska and Anchorage, Alaska. Operated by the White Pass and Yukon Route (U. S. Offi­ ces in Seattle), B. Y. N. Bus Lines (British Yukon Navigation Company) maintain semi-weekly service to Whitehorse, and on to Dry Creek (thirty-seven miles east of Alaska-Yukon boun­ dary) •

Here prearranged connection is made with Alaska

Coachways (Offices at Fairbanks) for continuation on to Fairbanks or Anchorage. With no high summits or heavy snowfall areas on Alaska Highway, buses operate year 1round (less frequent schedule during winter) •

Equipment is new and modern, with reclining

seats, full-view windows and forced-air heating. rest stops are made at convenient intervals.

Lunch and

Buses travel

only during daytime and night stops are made at comfortable

72 lodges at Fort Nelson, Lower Post, Dry Creek, and Copper Center.

It takes three days between Dawson Creek and

Whitehorse, two days from Whitehorse to Fairbanks, and three days from Whitehorse to Anchorage. Bus service is also available between Alaskan cities of Circle (and Circle Hot Springs), Fairbanks, Anchorage, Haines and Valdez (connection with passenger ships at latter two ports).

Service to the entire Kenai Peninsula, Alaska is

provided by Kenai Peninsula Bus Line (Office at Seward)•

Bus

service between Dawson Creek, B. C. and Edmonton, B. C. is furnished by Canadian Coachways, Limited, with connections at Edmonton to continental bus system. V.

TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH SERVICES

The Northwest Communication System, operated by Canadian National Telegraphs under the administration of the Dominion Department of Transport, provides facilities for public long distance telephone and commercial telegraph ser­ vices at the following repeater stations along the Alaska Highway:

Dawson Creek, B. C. (mile 0.0), Blueberry, B. C.

(mile 101), Trutch, B. C. (mile 201), Fort Nelson, B. C. (mile 300), Summit Lake, B. C. (mile 392), Muncho Lake, B# C. (mile ^$6), Coal River, B. C. (mile 533) > Watson Lake, B. C. (mile 63^), Swift River, B. C. (mile 733 )> Brook*s Brook (mile 829)> Whitehorse (mile 918), Canyon Creek (mile 996),

73 Destruction Bay (mile 1083), and Koidern (mile 1156).

In

addition, the Northwest Communication System ties in with other Department of Transport facilities at aerodromes located at Fort St. John, Beatton River, Fort Nelson, Smith •River, Watson Lake, Teslin, Whitehorse, Aishihik, and Snag. VI.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HIGHWAY AND CONCLUSIONS With all the completeness of a good highway that the

Alaska Highway possesses for a transportation method through a land that a few years ago was an uncrossed wilderness, there are many people today advocating the abandonment of the Alaska Highway to build a better located road. In cities along the Pacific Coast, the people regard construction of a coastal highway through northern British Columbia to connect with the Alaska Highway as an immediate project rather than a plan for the future. The protest, aroused when the route for the Alaska Highway was selected, has not died down.

Seattle has always

considered itself the gateway to Alaska, and Vancouver has occupied a comparable position in relation to the Yukon. Both cities were centers of the campaign for construction of a highway to Alaska in the years before the war.

Both were

centers of opposition to construction of the highway over the Edmonton - Fairbanks route.

Now that the highway has

been built there is a fear that northern trade will flow

7h through Edmonton down through Alberta and Montana, and through Winnipeg down through Manitoba and Minnesota, The Washington and British Columbia interests are anxiously awaiting the completion of the Hart Highway* Until the coastal road is constructed the Alaska Highway system will remain incomplete.

By building this route, the

industrial centers of the Pacific Coast, Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles will be directly linked with the cities of Alaska and the Alaska Highway will be provided with a second railhead.

This road will also open up another

large area in northern British Columbia now skirted by the Alaska Highway and enable the cities in the Alaska panhandle, Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Wrangell to acquire con­ nections with the rest of the continent by building subsidi­ ary roads* Far more important than the above mentioned connec­ tions are the possibilities of the long sought development of Alaska, by means of setting up competitive routes of trans­ portation, which history has shown not only cuts prices but develops areas and cities. Seattle has no regular trucking connection with Fairbanks.

An attempt was made by the Alaska Freight Cor­

poration to inaugurate such a service, but it was not found feasible and operations were discontinued.

Seattlefs trade

with the Territory is increasing and with the expected growth

75 in population in Alaska, that trade will also grow. It is obvious, ho\tfever, that Seattle and Vancouver can never again enjoy the same virtual monopoly of trade with Alaska and the Canadian Northwest that they did when a wilder­ ness separated Fairbanks and Edmonton and the only practical commercial route was by sea from the Pacific Coast cities. VII.

WATER SHIPPING INDUSTRY TO ALASKA HAS PROBLEMS

The Alaska trade presents many problems which must be solved before the commercial steamship lines can again pro­ vide service without government assistance.

Such prewar

vessels, as still remain in service, are very much overage and the modern vessels which are available would require exten­ sive changes to fit them for this trade.

Operating costs in

the Alaska trade have always been high because of the seasonal nature of the business, adverse weather conditions, difficult harbor operations and the many small ports that require regu­ lar service.

With the large increases in labor and material

costs that have been imposed on ship operators during the past few years, much higher freight revenues are necessary to produce a profitable commercial operation.

However, the

citizens of Alaska protest that they cannot stand substan­ tially higher freight rates.

Meanwhile, both from the

standpoint of providing for the basic commercial needs of the territory and servicing the various United States

76 military establishments in Alaska, the Maritime Commission is required to provide essential freight and passenger ser­ vice. VIII.

TRUCKING OVER ALASKA HIGHWAY HAS FUTURE

With the ever-increasing competition offered by the trucks from the Great Falls, Montana anchor end of the Alaska Highway approach, there seems to be a great deal of hope for the development of better and cheaper transportation for supplying Alaska. The last several years has developed a considerable business from Montana, but principally at Great Falls by increasing shipments both commercial and for the Army Air Forces.

This business in 19^9 was estimated at over two

million dollars.

The type of shipments exclusive of the

Army, are mainly meat, butter, eggs, vegetables followed by "hard” merchandise, including hardware, furniture, electrical supplies, et cetera. There are three established motor units working out of Great Falls and running trucks over the highway, namely Rice Transport Company, Taber Brothers Truck Lines and Beatrice Foods Company.

Regular scheduled truck service between

Montana points and Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska, can be put into effect just as soon as Canadian customs will permit bonded shipment through the Dominion in less than truck lots.

PHOTOGRAPH k MILE 252, NEAR PORT KELSON, BRITISH COLOMBIA S3 *vj

78 Shippers could be guaranteed deliveries from Montana to Alaska in not more than ten days if trucks were given common carrier privileges in Canada as they are in the United States.'*' The first week of December 19^9* the highway was in very good shape except for icy spots.

Keeping the Valdez

road open this winter has been a boon to truckers, Alaska Freight Lines especially, which is hauling huge loads of freight for the government.

The use of materials handling

equipment in this operation is a great labor-saving device by the use of huge cranes by which the Freight Lines load and unload the entire freight car from barge to trailer and vice versa without the necessity of handling separate items of 2 cargo. For the first time since the Alaska Highway was opened, incoming traffic at Tok Junction showed a decrease over that of the same month in the previous year, according to United States Customs Service.figures at Tok for the month of November. During the month of November there were 177 incoming cars with 380 passengers as compared with 21? cars and 392

^ Great Falls Tribune, December 1, 19*+9• p Jessen^ Weekly. Fairbanks, Alaska, December 9* 19^9.

79

TABLE IV NATIONAL CANADIAN REVENUE, CUSTOMS AND EXCISE PORT OF PLEASANT CAMP, BRITISH COLUMBIA AUGUST 30th, 19^9 Statistics for Month of Ausust 19^9 Outwards Inwards Cars.............. Trucks*........... Buses........... .. Passengers........ Freight Tons...... Manifests Issued...

129 3.30 k 789 68

192 178 b 621 293 21

80 passengers in November 19^8.

The reason for the high figure

in 19^8 is probably a result of the Seattle Steamship strike. IX.

LIMITING FACTOR OF ALASKA TRUCKING TRADE

When Alaska was purchased and named Sewardrs Icebox, it was so sparsely settled that there was no great demand for goods.

Accordingly, water transportation was all that was

needed for the needs of normal commerce.

As in all fron­

tiers, the coast line was most heavily settled.

Then the

Gold Rush and the flood of capital and goods followed tradi­ tional lines into Alaska.

Seattle was the nearest port to

Alaska and it was only natural that Seattle and the West Coast would furnish what developmental capital was needed. Furthermore, the search for gold had no ceiling as far as prices were concerned.

Therefore, the expense of water trans­

portation, packing and crating, lightering, et cetera could well be borne by the free and easy economy#

When things

began to settle down, it was Seattle and the West Coast which had their money invested in Alaska.

Therefore, any

buying that was done from Alaska was ordered from Seattle and the places which put up the developmental capital.

An

understanding of this is important, as this is one of the main reasons for the controversy over the location of the Alaska Highway and its lack of development. Before the war, during the war, and now, after the

81 war, the whole impetus of market (civilian marketing) has been mainly one direction, with exception perhaps of the salmon canneries shipping to the United States• It takes people who want things and have the where­ withal to create a flow of trade.

The people of Alaska want

and need a great deal of commodities and supplies from the United States but at present have little to return.

Further,

the population is so sparse and so scattered that there is little concentration of buying power in the modern sense. Goods can be shipped by highway to Alaska but the big limiting factor of Alaska trucking trade is what will consti­ tute the trucker*s important backhaul.

It is rare that

truckers can clear expenses on the backhaul from Alaska for several reasons:

(1) there is nothing to backhaul except

some army salvage or household goods or small shipments of salmon, (2) the movement from Alaska is traditionally geared to the sea and water transportation, (3) Seattle capital invested in Alaska is unlikely to give a land backhaul to a trucker out of Great Falls. X.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDAT IONS

It is clear that the Alaska Highway is a well-developed road and is being maintained and kept open to travel the year around. The future use of the highway for tourists * closer

82 inspection of the Territory is good with increasing numbers using the highway each year. The future outlook for hauling freight over the Alaska Highway is quite promising.

There are 1,860 miles of

graded and graveled road which only needs an oiled surface to be comparable with 2*f-foot highways on the federal system in the United States.

Adequate steel construction and tim­

ber treated bridges are in place. Airports are located at convenient intervals along the Alaska Highway.

The radio beam and weather stations are i

ready for informative service.

Telephone and telegraph lines

have been constructed and are in use. Interior Alaska, the Yukon, northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta constitute an area of vast natural resources, and development undoubtedly will be speeded so long as the highway is available. Rapid expansion of tourist travel may be expected only when one or more access roads connecting with the United States primary system are available. The Alaska Highway, the chain of airports along the inland route, the pipeline paralleling the road, and the telephone line that connects Alaska with the United States for the first time all are important units of a transporta­ tion system, and should be considered as one system regard­ less of sovereignty.

83 Since sovereignty is important, establishment of an international commission to supervise the maintenance and betterment of the highway and its auxiliaries appears to be worthy of consideration by both Washington and Ottawa. Immediate steps should be taken to oil the entire Alaska Highway and connecting main roads to control the dust problem. A study should be made of existing tourist problems and steps taken to correct them, whether this be major or secondary stopping places established along the road. The construction of a connecting road from the Richardson Highway to connect with the existing roadways of Mount McKinley National Park should be completed as soon as funds can be made available. The natural vacation area of Mentasta Lake region should be further developed to attract a large tourist trade. As funds become available other vacation areas should be developed. The establishment of through railroad rates from the United States to the Alaska Highway, and motor freight carriers should be allowed to operate at competitive rates to Alaskan points. The establishment of common carrier truck service to enable a three-way competitive route service via water, west coast motor carriers and mid-west motor carriers.

BIBLI04PHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY A.

GOVERNMENT REPORTS

Recreational Resources of the Alaska Highway and Other Roads in Alaska« Washington, D. C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1944-• 83 pp* Report of the Commission to Study the Proposed Highway to Alaska. Washington, D. C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1933* 116 PP* B.

PERIODICALS

Anderson, H. C., rtConstruction of Peace River Highway to be Continued This Year,'1 Roads and Bridges. 87:55-57, hay 194-9* , “Trans-Canada Highway Bill Passed,11 Roads and BridgesT 3^, December 194-9* Carson, Hon. E. C., Minister of Public Works for British Columbia, “Extensive Highway Construction Planned for British Columbia,” Roads and Bridges. 87*73-75? April 194-9* Editorial, ”The Alaska Highway,” EngineeringT 162:110, August 2, 194-6. , “Very Expensive Experience,” The Christian Century. £2:389, March 28, 194-5* Fullerton, F. H . , ”Hart Highway Links Alaska to Coast,” Western Construction News. 70-71, January 194-8. Howland, William S., “Alaska Highway,” Life. 15*12-14-, October 18, 194-3* Lanks, Herbert C., “Alaska with Car and Camera,” American Photography. 43:14-4— 14-8, March, 1949* Marshall, Jim, “Trouble on the Trail,” Colliersf? 113*l6*, January 15, 194-4-• Nelson, Harold E., Lt. Col., C.E., “The Long Trail Revisited,” The Military Engineer. 157-162, April 194-7* 85

86

Rathbone, A. D., Ill, “New Key to the North,11 Scientific American* lo8:262-26^, June, 19*+3• C.

ENCYCLOPAEDIA ARTICLES

“Bridge,11 Encyclopaedia America. 19^8 edition, III, 511* D.

LETTERS

Breitenstein, A. J., Secretary, Great Falls Chamber of Com­ merce, Great Falls, Montana, “Trucking on Alaska High­ way, “ January 6, 1950. Ganson, A. L., Manager Commercial Development Department, Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Seattle, Washington, “Truck­ ing on Alaska Highway,“ January 5, 1950* Ghiglione, A. F . , Chief Operations Division, Alaska Road Com­ mission, United States Department of the Interior, Juneau, Alaska, “Condition and Maintenance of Alaska Highway,*1 December 8, 19^9* Kinkead, M . W . , Captain, U, S • Army, Duty with Rice Trucking Lines, Great Falls, Montana, “Trucking on Alaska Highway,*1 December 12, 19*+9 • MacPherson, A. R . , Author, “Sea-Going Trailers for Alaskan Trade,11 June 27, 1950* E.

NEWSPAPERS

Great Falls Tribune * December 1, 19^9• Jessen1s Weekly. Fairbanks, Alaska, December 9, 19^9•

APPEUD IX ACCESS TO ALASKA HIGHWAY Agreement between the United States of America and Canada

E X E C U T IV E A G R E E M E N T S E R IE S 362

A C C ESS TO A L A S K A H IG H W A Y AG REEM ENT BETW EEN

TH E

U N IT E D AND

STATES

O F A M E R IC A

CANADA

E f f e c te d b y E x c h a n g e o f N o te s S ig n e d a t O t t a w a A p r il 1 0 , 1 9 4 3

UNITED G O V E R N M E N T

STATES

PRINTING

WASHINGTON

OFFICE

: 1944

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. O. Price

5 c e n ts

D E P A R T M E O F STATE P u b l i c n * 2057

T h e A m e r i c a n C h a rg e d /A ffa ir e s a d i n te r i m to the C a n a d ia n S e c r e ta r y o j S ta te f o r E x te r n a l A f f a i r s L U

e g a t io n

n it e d

S

tates

of of

U nder

the

A

m e r ic a

O tta w a , C a n a d a , A p r i l 1 0 , 1 9 4.8 .

M y

M r .R

d ea r

o b ertso n :

T h e q u e s tio n h a s b e e n r a is e d i n W a s h in g t o n as to w h e t h e r t h e t w o p h ra s e s fo u n d i n t h e A m e r ic a n - C a n a d ia n e x c h a n g e o f n o te s o f M a r c h 1 7 —1 8 , 1 9 4 2 ,[l] r e g a r d in g t h e p o s t - w a r u s e o f t h e A la s k a H i g h w a y , a p p l y e q u a lly to t h e u se o f t h e e x is t in g C a n a d ia n h ig h w a y s w h ic h w o u ld h a v e to b e u s e d in o r d e r t o r e a c h t h e s o u t h e r n t e r m in u s o f t h e A la s k a H i g h w a y f r o m t h e U n i t e d S ta te s . Y o u w i l l r e c a ll t h a t t h e n o te s p r o v id e t h a t a t t h e c o n c lu s io n o f t h e w a r “ t h a t p a r t o f t h e h i g h w a y w h ic h lie s in C a n a d a s h a ll b e c o m e in a l l re s p e c ts a n in t e g r a l p a r t o f t h e C a n a d ia n h i g h w a y s y s te m , s u b je c t to t h e u n d e r s t a n d in g t h a t th e r e s h a ll a t n o t im e b e im p o s e d a n y d is c r im in a t o r y c o n d itio n s i n r e la t io n t o t h e u se o f t h e r o a d as b e t w e e n C a n a d ia n a n d U n i t e d S ta te s c i v il ia n t r a f f i c . ” E ls e w h e r e t h e C a n a d ia n G o v e r n m e n t a g r e e d “ t o w a iv e i m p o r t d u tie s , t r a n s i t o r s im ila r c h a rg e s o n s h ip m e n ts o r ig in a t in g i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d to b e t r a n s p o r t e d o v e r t h e h ig h w a y to A la s k a , o r o r ig in a t in g i n A la s k a a n d t o b e t r a n s p o r t e d o v e r t h e h ig h w a y t o th e U n i t e d S t a t e s .” A lt h o u g h i t w a s o r ig in a ll y in t e n d e d t h a t m o s t o f t h e t r a f f ic o v e r t h e A la s k a H i g h w a y w o u ld b e r o u t e d t o D a w s o n C r e e k , B r i t i s h C o lu m b ia , b y r a i l , i t h a s , as y o u k n o w , b e e n f o u n d e x p e d ie n t to s e n d c e r t a in v e h ic le s a n d t r a n s p o r t c e r t a in s u p p lie s b y h ig h w a y f r o m t h e U n i t e d S ta te s t o D a w s o n C r e e k e n r o u t e t o A la s k a . M y G o v e r n m e n t fe e ls t h a t i t is a n a t u r a l in fe r e n c e f r o m t h e la n g u a g e q u o t e d a b o v e t h a t U n i t e d S t a t e s v e h ic le s s h o u ld b e a llo w e d t o use t h e ro a d s le a d in g f r o m t h e b o u n d a r y to t h e A la s k a H i g h w a y u n d e r c o n d itio n s s im ila r t o th o s e g o v e r n in g t h e use o f t h e H i g h w a y it s e lf . S in c e r e ly y o u r s , L ewis C l a r k

C harge d ’A ff a i r e s a d i n t e r i m . N

orm an

A. R

o ber tso n

, E s q u ir e ,

U n d e r S e c r e ta r y o f S ta te f o r E x te r n a l A f f a i r s , O tta w a .

1[Executive Agreement Series 246; 56 Stat. 1458,] 93869— 44