Alaska Roads

Alaska


Nothing like the Great White North. Oh wait, it's summertime. To the right, you see a sign from the world's largest seaplane base, Lake Hood in Anchorage. There are also non-sea planes there, and if you take the right road you end up crossing runways to get to the lakeside, as you see here. This photo is a bit of a trick shot - the lights alternate on/off, but I caught them with a bit of non-zero-time exposure just as they were switching.

AK 1
AK 3
AK 7
AK 98

In the AK 1 and AK 3 pages, you will see references to Interstates. Yes, Alaska has designated Interstate highways, because that way Congress will fund a higher percentage of improvements. AK 1 has two freeway sections, both more or less up to Interstate standards, and AK 3 has a short freeway tail off of AK 1 that is under construction but also up to Interstate standards. AK 2 and AK 3 also appear to have short lengths of freeway in Fairbanks; visit Oscar Voss' site below for more on those. The only non-Interstate freeway I saw in Alaska was Minnesota Drive/O'Malley Road in Anchorage south of downtown, and Fairbanks has several expressways that have a few interchanges.


The Iditarod Trail begins in Seward, presumably at this sign although there is at least one other sign proclaiming the beginning. In actuality, the Iditarod race runs on other trails as well - the Trail itself is in a few discontiguous sections from here on northward toward Anchorage and beyond.


This is the Douglas Bridge, linking Juneau to, believe it or not, Douglas. It crosses an arm of the Inside Passage (the Gastineau Channel, obviously), which is a popular cruise venue, and animals such as bald eagles, whales, orcas, and salmon are often seen just north and south of this bridge. Originally, the crossing was a steel truss bridge dating to 1933.

Alaska Non-Roads
Oscar Voss' Alaska Roads
Back to Roads


What they don't tell you is that it's actually quite easy to find the Northern Lights. Just make a right off of C Street in Anchorage. In fact, you could just take Northern Lights... Boulevard.