Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy met with Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai in Whitehorse, Yukon last week; the two leaders inked an agreement to work on a memorandum of understanding on the Alaska Highway, which is badly gutted with frost heaves throughout its section from Whitehorse to the U.S. border near Tok. The frost heaves between Burwash Landing and the border are so bad they send vehicles with unsuspecting drivers airborne, breaking axles and busting exhaust pipes.
Dunleavy said Alaska is going to help with the cost of the highway repairs and also work to get some U.S. federal money to smooth out the frost heaves, since Americans are the primary users of the highway, as they drive from the Lower 48 to Alaska with either freight for Alaskans or vacation maps.
Dunleavy said talks went well and will continue between the two leaders, including working on a transportation corridor agreement and food security cooperation. It was his first trip to the Yukon.
“The Alaska Highway is the only road link between Alaska and the Lower 48, and the vast majority of traffic on the Canadian portion of the road is American,” Governor Dunleavy said. “By working cooperatively with our neighbors in the Yukon, we can help ensure that people traveling to or from Alaska on the road are able to do more safely with fewer road hazards.”
The MOU outlines an agreement between the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the Yukon Department of Highways and Public Works to repair and improve a section of the Alaska Highway damaged by melting permafrost. The project will be included in Alaska’s 2024-2027 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, which is currently a point of dispute with the Biden Administration.
Meanwhile, over in Ottawa, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said last week that the Canadian federal government will stop investing in new road infrastructure, and instead work on getting people out of their cars and into “active transportation” like bicycles and walking, and into public transportation.
Guilbeault said existing road network in Canada “is perfectly adequate to respond to the needs we have.” The Trudeau government is putting an end to road expansion, he said. Instead, the government will use federal funds on projects to adapt to climate change and fight climate change, Guilbeault said.
“There will be no more envelopes from the federal government to enlarge the road network,” Guilbeault said, as reported by the Montreal Gazette. “We can very well achieve our goals of economic, social and human development without more enlargement of the road network.”
Guilbeault tried to step out of the pothole of his own creation on Wednesday, saying that what he meant to say was no new roads would be built in Canada, but that existing roads would be funded for maintenance.
Yukon is the most western part of Canada and is the smallest Canadian province and the second least populated. At 186,272 square miles and 44,975 people, it is rich in minerals and depends on the Port of Skagway to export its ore. It is the fastest-growing province in Canada.
The Alaska Highway was built mostly by Americans during World War II. It enters the Yukon near Watson Lake, and stretches 550 miles further to the Alaska border at mile 1,903.
Thank you, Governor Dunleavy for doing exactly the types of things our governor should be doing. Like getting out the map! Oh, let’s see. Who are these people closer to us than the other 49 states? Wonder if we should talk to them in an attempt to achieve mutual benefits. Things we should have formalized decades ago.
No new roads? It would be nice if Trudeau just ordered that all Canadian roads were fixed-up and maintained.
He’ll surely be tearing out your roads before too long — can’t have the peons trying to escape their 15-minute gulags, er, “cities”.
Now, eat your bugs in your 200 sq. foot living pod and stop complaining, or your social credit score will be docked another 500 points. Forward Soviet!
You have to admit that there is a lot of space between Dunleavy’s ears. The ferry system is suffering for the last six years in Southeast Alaska and he can’t pull himself away from driving down the middle of the highway. Doesn’t look for impending problems just is on a pleasure cruise. Looking to build….Well, first you have to have a plan for the money. Then you plan on where the money will fit if approve, Talking to this guy in Canada should give him an idea of how to plan on good infrastructure and how to “get it done.” Dunleavy is a slow learner. Next, he needs help on how to put a budget together and who does the work on budget and legislation, etc. Whew! Two more years to go!!!
Your ferry system problem is the legilsture, not the governor. Read a little bit instead of jumping on the first guy in line. The legislature just passed funding for an ELECTRIC ferry that can’t go 50 miles without a charge! What kind of idiots are you electing to represent you? And, the US Department of Transportation should be in Canada talking to the idiots there that have decided we are the problem. That highway was built as a NECESSARY conduit for the military between the lower 48 and Alaska and it is just as important today as it was then. The US administration is a complete clown show now and will remain so until it is replaced. Put the blame where it belongs.
1- the ferry system should be privatized.
2- the ferry system was never intended to last this long. Egan held we needed the long promised road from Skagway to Ketchikan. Ferries were supposed to serve the outer islands and the Aleutians.
3- the ferry system has been a bastard stepchild for decades.
Masked, Egan also tried to eliminate the Ferries since he was beholden to the Steamship monopoly. Fellow named Paul Crock took issue with that notion and the courts sided with Crock.
Maybe you should bone up on yer history?
How does that conflict with Egan wanting to build the road?
One does not conflict with the other.
If one compares maps of Canada and Alaska from the 1970’s to present one will see new northern roads throughout the northern Provinces, and no new roads in Alaska.
To be clear, Alaska built 5 miles of road north on Nome, used principle by bird watchers. Canada built roads to Churchill, to diamond mines, to oil deposits, and to other economic generators. While Alaska built the Dalton Hwy to Prudhoe Bay. No comparison. And no surprise that Alaska is behind the curve economically.
They say Alaska is America’s mineral and resource warehous . I suggest Alaska’s mineral are deep frozen and beyond reach.
Many of the roads you mention in Canada are completely impassable many months of the year. Alaska will never be able to tap it’s minerals until a railraod is built from Faibanks to the west coast. Right now, it is doable and would self pay and pay back construction costs in less than 20 years. If the rail went from Fairbanks to Red Dog, with a spur to Ambler, the zinc could be shipped year round and the 50 mile Port Site road would be no longer necessary. The Ambler road boondoggle would be over. A spur down to Kotzebue and Nome and beyond would allow for much less expensive goods, fuel and food for those living there. Crowley would hate it, Cruz would hate it, any other road builder would hate it, but it would be the best thing for the State going into the future. Roads in Alaska are NOT the best option for mineral development.
Interesting points, Robert.
I think roads can be done, provided we do them like the Scandinavian countries. They design roads to handle the environment, not just pour asphalt and forget about it.
I’ve favored expansion of the rail line north and west for decades.
No. And yes.
Deep frozen in the meteorological/geological sense? No, not really. The limited mines and oilfields have long since proven that to be a fallacy.
Deep frozen politically? ABSOLUTELY. The reason we have so little resource development is simply because over sixty percent of Alaska is directly controlled by the Federal government, and what isn’t directly controlled is still subject to a Federal permitting process.
Which guarantees that Alaska will forever be a tiny state, nay, a mere territory in the political sense. No development, no growth.
So unless you are in the commercial fishing industry (more likely to be non-Alaskan as Alaskan) or a near minimum wage worker (again, probably non-Alaskan), you’re likely stuck in a government job or some other low-paying support job.
Again, no development=no growth. No infrastructure=no development.
Odd. This must be a relatively new issue. Before Covid I traveled the ALCAN at least two times a year, winter and summer.
I always thought the Canadian side much better maintained than ours.
In fairness, I didn’t often go much past Destruction Bay in winter. Are the frost heaves on the Beaver Creek side?
Yes, they’ve been there for at least two decades, if not longer.
Every time I drove it, there were sections that were needing work or being worked on. The last time I drove it, I chose to drive in winter to save on vehicle wear and tear. The time before that, a U-Haul I rented had the transmission go out. They had to airlift one in! Oh, good times. 😉
It is a much better ride in winter.
I went through there last year. There is alot of work in between Tok and the border; where the work is complete it’s a gorgeous drive.
After you hit Canada? Night and day difference. Slow down. Alot. It’s in horrible condition now until almost Whitehorse.
Is Yukon no longer a territory, but is now actually a province?
When did that happen?!
And at the rate that the rabidly globalist, anti-nationalist cabal that rules Canada is importing turd worlders, they will be rescinding this ludicrous and anti-human road mandate, just as the cabal that rules in Leviathan-on-the-Potomac is backing off from their insane and unachievable battery vehicle mandates.
Yukon is still a territory. – sd
Do you never stop griping ?
You poor, poor tortured soul
He is acid.
And you are base.
If I never stop griping, Fairy, it is because our overlords never stop trying — and largely succeeding — in stripping us of our rights and our remaining prosperity.
But I am sure you are very comfortable with your head planted firmly in the sand (if not elsewhere).
Canada is a Communist Caliphate.
They’re our biggest ally, you dolt
When the trucker convoy was in Ottowa, Trixie Trudeau brought in unmarked military cargo planes filled with soldiers without insignia to bust heads. They were most likely U.N. mercs. Canada allows plane loads of unvetted illegal aliens into their country and then allows them to flood our northern border. Illegal alien captures on the northern border are up 41% just in 2023. But half the Alaskans in this state cannot drive out to get to the lower 48 any more because of misdemeanors of an impaired driving or theft in their history that happened 20, 30 or even 40 years ago. Canada IS a communist caliphate and a hostile enemy and should be treated as such. I do my part by giving the finger to any known mushbrain kanuck losers I see.
I don’t know who you are Fire, and I couldn’t be happier about that. I hope it stays that way. How anyone can have such a bitter, cynical, and acerbic outlook on life is beyond me. Oh, and I’ll bet you say you’re a Christian as well. I’d say that Poison would be a better monicker than Fire.
Oh, and I guess you’ve been turned back at the Border judging from your tone. Why am I not surprised?
Hans, it is interesting, and laughable, how you construe righteous anger at growing tyranny to being “bitter, cynical and acerbic”.
I bet you would have chastised those slaves on their pre-War of Norther Aggression plantations for being bitter, cynical and acerbic as well, eh?
You’ve been quite testly lately. Diaper rash?
You need to find new sources of information.
Nope. That would be Britain. Unfortunately.
You confuse ally with trading partner.
Biggest ally my a–. What exactly do they provide us. We paid for the original road. I am not allowed to do any commercial flying over there yet they can come here and grab work. They are basically unarmed so can’t even defend themselves. It’s a bizarre country. They showed their colors during Covid. Treated us like crap.
Hmmm. Talks like this while the US is crumbling and our dollar is losing value every day and our state is looking towards an energy crisis because of Dunleavy’s support of “green energy” and we have an unknown number of illegal immigrants in our state? Pretty soon we won’t be driving anyway if the globalists get their way. If we were rolling in money and the world was all rosy and happy, I’d say to go for it Dunleavy. Not now though. Now is not a good time to worry about Canada’s roads.
Hey Mike–what about the $5.6 billion Alaska transportation plan rejected by feds, putting road construction projects in jeopardy story hit off the press this week? Please get the kids in order before taking this on or it will surely be a major cluster.
$5.6 billion road project probably requires 3 in 10 of the workforce be transgender and if we don’t comply the feds will take our school funding away.
Hey Mike–what about the $5.6 billion Alaska transportation plan rejected by feds, putting road construction projects in jeopardy story hit off the press this week? Please get the kids in order before taking this on or it will surely be a major cluster.
They want to depopulate the Earth and go back to the Stone Age. That is, for everyone else but themselves.
Canada treated us like trash during the scamdemic.. I’m badly discouraged with them.
Yes, the Canadians really went whole-hog with the Covidian madness and tyranny. But they have always been, for the most part and much more than Americans, good little sheep who meekly obey authority. Canadians are the “good Germans” of North America, along with the subjects of Taxachusetts and Caliunicornia.
Beautiful country, civil citizenry, ethnically diverse and integrated, universal healthcare, common-sense gun control, and no epidemic of mass shootings. Sounds pretty good to me.
Are you kidding me Hans. ?? Their medical is typical socialist medicine. If you have a cold you’re covered if you got cancer they head for the US as fast as they can run. And that’s a fact. They have enormous crime on their east coast including gun violence. Get your facts straight. Here is another interesting fact did you realize one of the most violent cities in the world is Stockholm Sweden another socialist bastard country.
Hans, if you love the statist, third-world-turning statist hellhole of Canada so much, why don’t you relocate there immediately, and do us all a favor?
You arrogant statist midwits are infuriating to try to reason with in any logical manner, as you are entirely immune to it.
Seems you don’t follow Canadian politics at all.
The guy who used to own Gunsight Mountain Lodge didn’t think much of the Canadians, either.
Good infrastructure is nothing more than white privilege.
Good infrastructure is also racist and anti-non-cis-gendered.
Perhaps it is time to close the highway of tears.
Yep! Social justice demands that we tear-up all the roads in Alaska and Canada, and allow the indigenous First Nations Aboriginal Peoples of Virtue to return to traveling purely by foot or by mooseback. Only when they shed the last vestiges of Western Civilization will their honor and dignity be restored.
Really? Why?
So Alaska will still pay for road repairs in another country regardless of what a government cuck in Ottawa said.
At least we aren’t importing 10’s of thousands of illegal aliens into Anchorage… oh, wait.
The best road in North America might be that stretch between Haines Jct to the Border at Haines.
Perhaps the worst is between Burwash Landing to Beaver Creek. But what shouldn’t be forgotten is that the Alcan is exponentially better today than it was back in the ’60s and ’70s.
Google the “Shakwak Agreement” to learn more about Alaska and Canada’s road agreement.
Canada is the bellwether of what the lefties plan for us. If Obama/Jarrett – err I mean Biden – get another 4 years, I fully expect Buttig-whatever to renounce new road infrastructure as well.
Bootyjudge
They shouldn’t have paved it from Tok to Whitehorse. It was exponentially cheaper to maintain when it was gravel. Drove it in the early 70s and it was gravel and banked. It was a great dirve.
The biggest dangers on the Alcan are the logging truck drivers.
The tourists that drive the Alcan Highway contribute more to the local economy than the cruise ships. Not to mention the amount of goods transported by trucks that keep shipping competitive, and are insurance for a secondary supply of goods during a war or natural disaster. Since we won’t be able to use our share of the federal money on our own infrastructure , seems to be a good idea.
According to some truck drivers I know there is a stretch between beaver creek and destruction bay that is beyond horrific. And I remember driving that in early 70s and it was flying rocks and mud.
Any gang out there can declare itself a government then everything they do is legitimate!☠️
This was among his primary interests to work on but Covid-19 was the only issue for years. Of course, this should be handled constitutionally according to law by a functioning US President. Under current conditions with the presidency failing to act to the detriment of Alaska’s people Alaska’s executive is obliged and has a duty to act in the people’s interests. This is why our elected people must be up to speed with the US Constitution. All of them studying and applying what it literally says. Currently we need to change those on the public trustt fund stipend. They work FOR us only.
A. So you want to eliminate the PFD?
Again, Canada tops Alaska and America.
Why don’t you move and go live in that ‘woke’ utopia and statist hellhole, Paolo?
You belong there.
I recommend Hongcover.
Like California, not too long ago Vancouver was a great place.
Amazing how fast things change.
You can read a map. Congratulations.
The fallen angels
They too were liars and taught man to lie and according to the Book of Enoch taught man all types of abominations. Experimented with animals and man creating monstrosity of the two.
Could they be truthful – no they couldn’t, they knew what they were doing was forbidden. So they told certain stories to the Sumerians and Egyptians and why wouldn’t the humans believe them, considering the miraculous things they saw these beings do.
And some still live on this earth today!
though my comment was removed it is accurate. People will remain ignorant regarding the delegation of authorities and they will stay dumbed down. Alaska’s preferred condition.
I’m confused about the last line of the article.
The border is mile 1221 and the alcan ends at Delta Junction somewhere around 1400 where it turns into the Richardson.
The highway starts before the border. – sd
The highway starts at Dawson Creek.
The Alcan border post is mile 1221.8
It ends around 1400 in the vicinity of Delta Junction.
I’m still confused with the last line in the article.
The UNDRIP (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) may be what is driving this split in governance, heavily influencing and adopted by Canada, and may end up ceding private property around the world to UN control. Look it up. It appears to be what may be driving the Eklutna Dam removal madness, using our native Alaskans as naive pawns, although the adoption of the resolution in AK and the US is not clear.
I’ve driven the Alcan many times, including three times last year. The worst section, by far, is between Tok and the border, especially the last 45 miles before you enter Canada. I’d worry about fixing that first.
I had the same thought. Our side of the ALCAN is abysmal.
Because the Yukon is a territory, and not a province, everything they do has to be rubber stamped by Ottawa, which can be a royal pain in the culo.
The US used to provide Canada with about $15 to $20 mil a year to help keep the Alaska Highway maintained, and I believe that ended 1 or 2 years ago. I’d hope we can restore that funding as its vital to those in Southeast (Haines, Skagway).
And about the comment about loggers: I worked in Whitehorse for years and years, didn’t see much logging. Not sure what part you see logging trucks on, but its certainly not in the Yukon. There’s daily caravans of fuel trucks going to/from Haines & Skagway – its cheaper for the Yukon & NWT to buy gas from us than it is to caravan from Alberta or barge up from Vancouver.
Just tell Dunleavy that a gold mine in Whitehorse needs the mill at Fort Knox
Maybe Yukon can join Alaska and succeed from the swamp in Ottawa and DC!
“The fighting Mac”⚔️
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