The Dalton Highway

After traveling all 416 miles of the Dalton, it is quite easy to see why it is such a dangerous road, but still a fascinating one. Most may not realize that the road itself is primarily gravel, but due to frost heaving it is extremely difficult to maintain as a blacktopped road. There are also stretches where the road is chip sealed. The speed limit is 55 mph but many of the long haul truckers do go faster than that in spaces. You could drive the entire length of the Elliott and Dalton Highways in one day, but it would be an extremely tall order.

There are stretches that are very straight, but there very treacherous places including this corner that is appropriately named. Another stretch “Happy Man Ridge” had to be abandoned due to road engineers failing to realize the maps that the northbound and southbound workers were using when constructing the road were using different scales. The highway now leads to “Happy Man Ridge” only to take a more circuitous route prior to driving over the top of the ridge. The name of the ridge comes from the fact that a driver would be happy just to be alive after completing this section of the highway. As we drove into and left Wiseman, we saw a car that had been pushed into area in between the road and the Koyukuk River. There’s no telling how long the vehicle had been there, but it will be there for a lot longer.

All along the way from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay, there was no cell service. We had a CB radio and a satellite phone in the van, but should there have been an emergency you were miles from medical help. There was a state trooper posted in Wiseman, but he was focused more on wildlife issues than standard police responsibilities.

Granted that I saw the Dalton in early September as opposed to the height of the ice road season, the television show paints a somewhat different picture of the Dalton than what I saw. While I’m certain drivers want to succeed, safety is very important. It’s also a friendlier road than the show sometimes paints with truckers talking on the CB. The road is also used year round to haul supplies, but more supplies certainly go in the winter due to the restrictions on drilling (see the post detailing September 7th).

Once you get north of Atigun Pass, the scenery changes drastically due to the lack of trees and Arctic Slope that takes one down to the northern coast of Alaska. There are hills to break the monotony, but the landscapes are not nearly as fantastic as south of the continental divide. Once north of the divide, all rivers flow north as opposed to the east to west that occurs south of the divide. After leaving Coldfoot, there is no civilization along the road, so you’d better have what you need when you leave Coldfoot. While there are turnouts with outhouses and some campsites, there is absolutely nothing along the road.

The road is maintained year round by the Alaska DOT and there are numerous stations where crews are stationed. Additionally, there are gravel dumps for DOT crews to get rock to fix areas of the highway that need attention. There is also a gate that can be closed to block the entrance to Atigun Pass if need be for safety reasons. All the stations also have areas where vehicles can be plugged in during the winter. I heard at one point that vehicles were plugged in to keep the oil warm and ready for cranking at a moment’s notice to prevent damage to the engine.

As said previously, the pipeline is nearly always within eyeshot of the road. Occasionally, you'll pass by one of the pumping stations.
Most stations have crews that rotate in and out, but all but a couple of the stations are manned continuously to ensure no problems with the flow of oil.

It's a challenging highway that few ever visit, but shots like the one below made this trip one I'll never forget.