Dalton Highway
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| Dalton Highway |
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| Length: | 414 mi[citation needed] (666 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1974 | ||||||||
| South end: |  Elliot Highway near Livengood |
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| North end: | North Slope Borough near Deadhorse; service road extends to Prudhoe Bay | ||||||||
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The James W. Dalton Highway, usually Dalton Highway (Alaska Route 11) is a 414-mile (666 km) road in Alaska. It begins at the Elliott Highway, north of Fairbanks, and ends at Deadhorse near the Arctic Ocean and the Prudhoe Bay oil fields. Once called the North Slope Haul Road (a name by which it is still sometimes known), it was built as a supply road to support the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System in 1974.
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[edit] Overview
The highway, which directly parallels the pipeline, is one of the most isolated roads in the United States. There are no towns; the few settlements are truck stops. The 240 miles (384 km) from Coldfoot to Deadhorse have no services for travelers at all. At the Yukon River Bridge there is a restaurant and a gas pump that is closed October thru May. Also at the Yukon River Bridge due to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, all northbound vehicles must be checked at a checking station on the south end of the bridge to ensure safety of the bridge and the pipeline. The highway also comes to within a few miles of the Arctic Ocean. Beyond Deadhorse are private roads owned by oil companies, which are restricted to authorized vehicles only. There are, however, commercial tours that take people to the Arctic Ocean. All vehicles must take extreme precaution when driving on the road. Some of the worst spots on the highway is at mile 75 when the road becomes extremely steep.
It is named for James Dalton, an Alaska-born engineer who supervised construction of the Distant Early Warning Line in Alaska and, as an expert in Arctic engineering, served as consultant in early oil exploration in northern Alaska.
[edit] Places along the Dalton Highway
- Mile 73 (km 118) Elliott Highway, mile 0 (km 0)
- TAPS Pump Station No. 6, mile 54 (km 87)
- E. L. Patton Yukon River bridge, mile 55 (km 90)
- Arctic Circle, mile 115 (km 185)
- Prospect Creek, site of the lowest recorded temperature in the United States, mile 135 (km 217)
- TAPS Pump Station No. 5, mile 137 (km 221)
- Coldfoot, mile 175 (km 282)
- Wiseman, mile 188 (km 304)
- Continental Divide (Atigun Pass, elevation 4,800ft/1,463m), mile 245 (km 394)
- TAPS Pump Station No. 4, mile 269 (km 433)
- TAPS Pump Station No. 3, mile 312 (km 502)
- TAPS Pump Station No. 2, mile 359 (km 577)
- Deadhorse, mile 414 (km 666)
[edit] Gallery
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 The highway and pipeline run generally parallel to each other; this segment is between the Arctic Circle and Coldfoot. |
 The E. L. Patton Yukon River Bridge carries the highway over the Yukon River north of Fairbanks. |
 Sign at Deadhorse: |
 Chandalar Shelf, south of Atigun pass. |
 Atigun Pass, the highest point on the highway. |
 The Sagavanirktok River, one hour south of the Arctic Ocean. |
 The sign denoting the Arctic Circle at mile 115, between Fairbanks and Coldfoot. |
