When Americans Built a Road Across Canada
Vložit
- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
- The story behind one of Canada's most famous highways...and how it was built by a foreign army. From the Rocky Mountain foothills, all the way to Alaska-we take a road trip finding clues to its origins: rusted old trucks, strange-looking buildings, and abandoned gravel roads. This is the tale of the largest American invasion into Canada since the Gold Rush. This is the Alaska Highway.
SUPPORT THE CHANNEL W/ PATREON: goo.gl/2tGNNp
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE: goo.gl/iZAYjf
DONATE ONCE W/ PAYPAL: www.paypal.me/thisiscanadiana
TWITTER: / thisiscanadiana
INSTAGRAM: / thisiscanadiana
FACEBOOK: / thisiscanadiana
WEBSITE: www.thisiscanadiana.com
MERCH: goo.gl/SPwzqn
The first thing we want to mention is that the Alaska Highway originally had a far less American-centric name: the Alcan Highway (Alaska-Canada). In the same way Canol Road comes from “Canada-Oil.” We much prefer the Alcan since the majority of the highway is, ya know, in Canada.
One of the central reasons Whitehorse became the capital of the Yukon (in 1953) is because of the boom it experienced during the construction-dethroning Dawson City!
We wished we had the time to drive up Canol Road when we filmed the episode. The disaster caused by its construction is STILL being dealt with today. Here’s an article about the cleanup from July 2022:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/...
The Teslin Taxi:
By the time the Alaska Highway was built, many Yukon communities still weren't widely accessible by road. However, there is at least one notable exception: the village of Teslin (Desleen), YK. It was all thanks to a multi-talented man named George Johnston. Johnston was a Tlingit photographer and entrepreneur. As a successful trapper, he used some of his earnings to purchase photography equipment, which he then used to document his vibrant community in some of the best Depression-era photography out there-particularly during the years leading up to WWII (a few of these photos can be seen in the episode).
He also bought himself a four-door Chevrolet, which was shipped from the dealer down the Yukon River, up Teslin River, and over Teslin Lake to reach him. Since there was no road in Teslin, George Johnston built one 4 mile stretch himself. He turned his Chevrolet-the first car in town-into the famous Teslin Taxi, charging $1 a trip. Johnston's four miles eventually became a part of the Alaska Highway, with Teslin at Mile 804! You can find many of his photos today at The George Johnston Museum in Teslin (they also have a great Facebook page).
There are certainly examples of the Alaska Highway benefitting the First Nations of the Northwest, but the change it brought was drastic.
The Yukon Archives includes a page about the impact on First Nations here: bit.ly/3i7bKTs
And they have a great bibliography here:
bit.ly/3CijdWG
Joe Louis:
The heavyweight champion of the world was in Whitehorse for a stint during the construction. He was enlisted in the army and sent to raise the morale of troops around the world. He was spotted at the Regina Hotel where some Texan officers stormed out in protest at his presence.
Soviet Spies:
We made an entire episode about Soviet spies infiltrating Canada during and after WWII, and one of the ways they did so was by flying south along the Northwest Staging Route! There are even stories of spies escaping with suitcases stuffed full of secret documents. The North would soon become home to a series of detection systems to protect against the Soviet threat.
Clarifications:
The full cost of the construction is hard to pinpoint. The Canadian government repaid the American government $108 million “to cover airfields and flight strips... other assets...but not construction of the highway itself.” American investment in the highway is recorded as $147.8 million (between 2-3 billion US dollars today). Canada provided a lot of materials and waived taxes, fees, etc. The U.S. Department of Transportation clearly states that Canada paid the cost of the Canadian portion back in full.
11,000 American soldiers were joined by 16,000 American and Canadian civilians in constructing the highway.
The bridge crossing the Aishihik River is a replica of the original.
We mention that a store of dynamite exploded in Dawson Creek, BC, “leveling the town.” It leveled a large part, but not the entire town. Here’s a great article about Dawson Creek and the disaster, written months after the explosion: archive.macleans.ca/article/1...
DESCRIBED VIDEO VERSION: vimeo.com/943370175/caa720aec...
#alaskahighway #canadianhistory #wwii
00:00 Introduction
01:03 America at war!
02:01 Northwest Staging Route
03:06 Fighting Germany
04:08 The Plan
05:05 The Construction
08:54 Japan Invades!
09:42 Soldier's Summit
10:09 Victory!
12:33 Bonus Story: Canol Road
Happy New Year! Apologies for the delayed release! If you haven't seen it already, this episode pairs well with our earlier video called "How the Cold War Started...in Ottawa!" And check out this episode's description for some incredible factoids and a mini-story about the Teslin Taxi (a story we wished we had covered when we were so close to Teslin!).
To extrapolate on what we mention in the episode (since this has been commented on a couple of times): along with the 11,000 American soldiers, 16,000 American and Canadian civilian workers helped build the highway and airfields (as well as members of the Canadian military who weren't overseas). All the footage of the construction comes from the U.S. Archives.
We drove back and forth over the Alaska Highway, from Kluane National Park to Johnson's Crossing half a dozen times while filming this episode, and we would recommend it to anyone who has the means. 80% of the tourists on the Alaska Highway are American!
You guys are doing great with these videos keep up the good work. keep pushing to show people the lesser know history maybe these will be shown in schools one day with your great explanation and editing
@@macdobls Thank you! Nothing would make us happier!
This is a story I had never heard (how thd Alaskan highway came to be). It's all so disturbing, but we have a responsibility to learn history no matter how dark and depressing. Thanks for bringing this opportunity to us.
@@macdobls sadly my son comes home from public school and talks about the tv he's watched in class too often. If only the content they get at school was this good
Can't forget bout the cokahala pass (I'm sure I peld it wong...piss off, I did it on purpose)
The insane thing about this project is it was completed in less time than it took a local BC contractor to build one small merge lane.
yes, it was a poorly built highway that took decades and decades of rebuilding.
My father worked on the highway and said that all sorts of crap went into the base. Much of the highway was built in the winter, the following spring many parts of the highway had to be completely rebuilt.
And probably costed less as well knowing bc
@@rb239rtrof course it was built as quickly as possible. They were in a war after all.
Faster than Halifax could cover its potholes.
@@xiaokashh don't bring logic and historical facts.
This is really neat! I'm from the Yukon and my grandpa has stories of how they thought the soldiers were ghosts because they had never seen that many non-Indigenous people before. Crazy how this was less than 100 years ago!
Watch em all and it will be more even better neato. Real good shows
Im indigenous
@@XxWrldTino aho cousin
One of my grandpas was a Military Police guy during the road project - he apparently got sick at one point and was given this brand new experimental drug that saved his life... penicillin.
Hello Yukon neighbors:)
My Dad was in the Canadian army when the agreement was reached the U.S. would hand the highway over to Canada. He was (and one other, it I remember correctly) tasked with mapping all the radio signal "dead" zones. A group of Canadian military vehicles travelled the entire length, verifying ( and correcting) geological surveys, while my father (originally trained in the RCAF during WWII) sent/searched out radio signals and marked the areas where signals wouldn't get through.
Wow, thank you for sharing! That must have been an incredible journey for him, worthy of a novel. One of the things we found intriguing was that the Soldier's Summit opening ceremony was broadcast on-location (as far as we know).
Whoa that's incredible he wrote a book! We have to check it out! Thanks very much!
I transited canada on this highway when PCS from Fort Hood in Texas to Fort Wainwright in AK. Was pretty cool.
My Grandfather served in the RCAF along the Alaska Highway during the war. He was a lineman and was part of the 10 CMU (tradesman in the RCAF). He documented his journey from NB to Alaska in pictures that filled two photo albums. Hopefully some day I will be able to retrace his steps along the Al-Can Highway to pay homage to the hard work and perseverance demonstrated by all involved.
@@paulmasson9674 that's interesting. My uncle was a serving Cdn. Naval Officer with a Super 8 video cam during the war, then on the DEW line after the war when the St. Roch came through the NW Passage (1947). It was illegal to photo or film.
Never been to Canada but as an American, we may tease each other but we've been through thick and thin and I'm glad that we were able to use our engineering prowess to help both of us out. We may be different in a lot of ways but y'all are the best neighbor and sibling a nation could ask for. Love you guys.
Unfortunately, now there are walls. No longer can we visit each other freely, passports are required, like traveling to a foreign country.
I did several long-distance motorcycle tours into the US. Lovely, friendly people. Met & rode with others like that along the way. Nobody touched our bikes or gear in San Francisco during lunch while out of sight.
What happened ? Where did the insanity come from ?
@@2011AzurePoliticians!👎👎🤮
Everyone needs to drive this road at least once. August of 2019 we moved our daughter and son in law from Utah up to Anchorage, Alaska, a long five days worth of driving and just under 3200 miles. The scenery and the landscapes are amazing!
Couldn't agree more. It shocked us how few Canadians we saw in the hotels and restaurants of the Yukon in general.
I drove the Alcan 1999 / 2000 towing a 27' trailer to work summers on the Kenai Peninusla. Some of the most scenic hwy ever for me and most memorable trips.
This video has been a great history lesson as I had little knowledge beforehand. Also just found your channel Thanks
I drove the road in 1979 and then in 2013, both times northbound. The road had numerous improvements between my two trips and a lot of the road has been moved from its original path. It was only paved south of Fort Nelson in Canada in 1979.
Hundred percent and there's so much neat stuff leading up to it like Laird spring's in northern BC and Watson lake sign post forest
Yeah most beautiful hey didn't i see you guys at the Liard hot springs ? kidding great drive
How lucky we are in the US to have such good neighbors. Thanks, Canada, for everything. Subscribed.
Please stop killing innocent people around the world. You're endangering both yourselves, Canadians, Mexicans, and other who share the continent.
Just dont come to Toronto, people are assholes here
Fast forward to today, if you divide what we paid for the highway per KM, 554$ was a heck of a deal per KM of road, God Bless America and its resolve and generosity, too few people truly understand how much Canada and America were and still are intertwined.
We should have paid nothing, us allowing them to build it should have been all the payment necessary.
@@tiffaniterris2886 Well, take that up with history hon.
@@tiffaniterris2886 For all the protection the US has provided Canada through the years including today, you should pay us your entire economy, oh that wouldn't exist without us either.
@@pvp64 Lol don't act like we don't give you a crap ton of resources, who knows how different history would've been without Canada OR the US. They both played parts in winning the war and Canada still purposely doesn't fuel their military just so the US (a close ally) doesn't need to stress about having a military on its border, we need some military power if were purposely not going to have one of our own, which you guys sufficiently provide.
@@Nabee_H Crap ton of resources? Lol do a little research and whatever minimal resources you provide, we pay for. You purposely don't fuel the military to provide less stress to the US about being on are border? Lol that's a good one.
My Grandfather worked on the Alaska highway. The Americans paid very well and my Grandfather saved enough money to buy a family farm. As a child in Fort St. John, there was a spot where you could see a sunken crawler tractor in Charlie Lake.
That’s Awesome we live across the border in AB not far from FSj the old boy was prob a legend up there.
Spent some time in FSJ and traveled the highway many times. Allegedly any equipment that got stuck too bad or broken down would be left and buried in the road bed.
I live just outside FSJ, right off the highway. Born and raised here and now doing the same with my children. 🙂
Two of my Grandfathers also worked on the road one had his own construction company and the other was just a hired hand
Thanks for this information. Having spen a year inYukon, it is one of my favorite destinations.
I grew up in Michigan the ties between Canada and the USA are so interesting.
In Detroit and Windsor we celebrate 4th of July and Canada Day on the same day July 3rd.
Would love to see a video about how Detroit Windsor and other border towns have changed from military enemies in 1812 to some if the busiest spots for international trade
Love this channel just subscribed 🇺🇸❤️🇨🇦
We are definitely interested in doing an episode or two on subjects like this. We are sort-of working on something in that vein right now.
That is Amazing. I never knew this fact before now. Amen my fellow human being.
From my reading of these comments, North America basically is a nation, Canada is quite lucky, without the Americans they wouldn't be able to exist, is it true Canadians are descendants of Americans
@@EthanReeceGrantWorth had to laugh out loud when I read this totally stupid comment. Ethan. go read some history books, You might even enjoy them.
I was raised in Northern Alberta about 75 miles from Dawson Creek. My father worked on the Alaska Highway oin 1942. A number of girls in my hometown married Americans working
on the Alcan highway as it was known then.
Still is.
@@jamesblackmon7531 Nope. The only people who call it the Alcan are tourists. All the locals call it the Alaska highway. All the signs say Alaska highway The federal government dept that owns and maintains it calls it the Alaska highway.
The Canadian Pacific railway was the greatest engineering achievement bar none , built 6 years ahead of schedule and under budget it holds the record to this day.
My grandfather was a subcontractor on CP . He had a half dozen Fresno's and a grader . I think I recall that the Fresno's were pulled by six horses but the grader needed eighty head in one team
It would have been a much greater achievement if they had chosen Yellow head pass, as initially proposed, instead of Rodgers pass.
The Pyramids was more impressive
Lots of Chinese worked to death on that railway fact
@@GNFLYER Actually my friend The Yellowhead was picked for and is now the location of the Canadian National Railroad between Alberta and the Pacific coast. There are several books written on the building of that Railroad. The route was recommended by Sir Sandford Fleming the fellow who invented standard time, which gave the railroads a coherent means of reporting time rather than whatever time locals might deem it to be based on their own whims. Fleming actually travelled that route by horseback, canoe and walking to prove the viability of the northern route.
Not exactly across Canada, but an impressive undertaking that combined Canadian, American and local folks during wartime. When I drove the Alaska Highway in an anniversary year, I leap-frogged a convoy of historical vehicles driven by veterans of the project. We often met up in the hotel bar at the end of the day. Plenty of fascinating stories, laughter, and a few beers. There are still bulldozers out in the permafrost, fuel caches, and garbage pits that nobody knows about. At the end of the war, they were just buried. No environmental impact assessment back then!
What we wouldn't give to have been in the pubs hearing those stories as well! Very cool, thanks for the insight!
@@CanadianaIf you ever come across the book Six War Years 1939 1945 you will find a few stories in there on the Alaskan Highway.
Ah, the good old days. We used to dump hundreds of gallons of trichlorethane into the sewer to go right into the Great Lakes. Kill all the fish? So what? Yes, sir, the good old days...
classic americans, in a foreign country and have zero regard for the environment
@@rollingthunderinho, sure. Imagine not filing an environmental impact statement for World War II. Those nasty Japanese caused an oil spill in Pearl Harbor, too! That was before Dawn dish soap was invented. What would Greta the Great think?
Very cool to learn about the story of this highway. As a Canadian I like teasing our American neighbours but the collaboration between our nations never ceases to amaze me.
If you have a good neighbour, you don't mind if your neighbour crosses over your lawn.
@@chrisgraham2904 the US needs better neighbors. One of our neighbors is clean and copies all of our stuff. The other neighbor launches their many children over our fence and constantly has drugs. Canada is lucky it’s on a dead end road so it only has 1 neighbor to deal with
Whatever makes you feel better little brother.
I love Canada it's cool we have a good neighboring country.
As a yank, we don't mind being teased, we are probably richly deserving of it, you are upholding a long and venerable tradition...
When I lived in Whitehorse in the 90's, I was sitting in a restaurant when an American tourist was loudly complaining about the condition of some stretches of the Alaska Highway, saying, "We built this road in ten months!"
Without even missing a beat, the Canadian waitress touched the tourist on the arm and gently said, "And we've been trying to fix it ever since, dear".
🤣🤣
Sounds like something that never happened
@@fretless7099 I was there. Were you?
@@CrosscutFilmsSask still don’t buy it
I grew up in Kluane area. Learned to drive on it when it was gravel, lived through the dissent when it was decided to chip seal it. Watched as the chip was dug up because of potholes from frost heaves. I never had a chance to see it paved because I moved south.
@@fretless7099 What would I possibly have to gain from making that up?
I have lived in Dawson Creek my whole life, and I recall an old substitute teacher, Doug Harper, born in 1947, spoke about how as a small child he remembered his parents speaking of the dynamite explosion mentioned at 8:00. He said it blew out the windows of many buildings that weren't even close to the explosion site, including the top floor of his house. Must have been quite an epic event for the community at the time.
Thank you for posting this video. This highway is an amazing drive and I highly recommend anybody looking for a long road trip to consider it. Cheers!
Thanks for the video. When we first went up the Alaska Highway in '71 there was still the odd abandoned truck or piece of machinery seen on the side of the road. I don't believe it was all paved then either, but it was awhile ago. We traveled it again this past summer and the scenery was as breathtaking as I'd recalled it all those years back.
Thanks for sharing! In our experience filming it seemed like we came across more abandoned trucks heading East from Whitehorse. Specifically around Johnsons Crossing. They have collected a number of them and put up a little display at a rest area where Canol Road meets the highway.
Six years ago the frost heaves were so extreme in one stretch that I had to drive at 20 mph or less (in a 36' truck). I thought gravel would have been better, as it could simply be graded; fixing pavement requires breaking things up and reconstructing them..
I trucked up the highway in 1981, starting in South Bend Indiana and ending in Ankorage. At that time, there were 1200 miles not paved. Stretches were slippery like ice but this was in August and the temps were in the 70's. It was an incredible journey that I will remember fondly until I pass.
Nevermind how informative this video is, the production quality and writing are top tier. I've never seen this channel, but subscribed about 3 minutes in. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for subscribing and checking us out!
Yooooo I love your videos, sick to see you here brother haha
We are so lucky to have Canada as our friend! The effort, sacrifice, ingenuity, and resolve shown by both of us in this incredible project demonstrates that when we put our heads together, we can accomplish anything! 🇨🇦🇺🇸
I still had thd chance to drive the old unpaved Alcan.
This was really a hell of an adventure...it took me 1,5 weeks
Sad theres hardly anything left and they even removed the historic mileposts.
Ad a Yukoner who used to drive professionally on the highway, let me congratulate you on a beautifully-produced episode.
One small silver lining to the Canol fiasco: the Whitehorse refinery wasn't torn down, but instead sold to Imperial Oil, who shipped it to Alberta, where it processed output from the famous Leduc #1 discovery well.
I was born and raised in Fort Nelson and have never heard anyone reference it before! If you drove the Alaska Highway to make this video, I hope you got to check out the natural beauty surrounding it, like the Liard Hotsprings! I work at the visitor centre here and love seeing all the tourists come and go. Great video!!
Fun fact: Apparently after finishing the highway, the workers left all their machinery and equipment and big cats on the frozen Muncho Lake. They let it all thaw and fall into the lake, which is so deep that no one has seen any of the machinery since.
The productioon quality on this is immaculate. Well done sir! As an American I am not keen on Canadian history but this production has made me intrigued to learn more I look forward to any future installments.
Fun Fact: you can hike the Canol Road these days, it's a popular extreme hiking destination. It was recently (mostly) cleaned up of dangerous debris and there's companies in the Yukon that will help prep and even airdrop supplies. Probably too much for me but the pictures look beautiful and both Mayo and Norman Wells are great towns to visit.
Love all the videos you do of the north. Tons of crazy stories up here I'm glad are getting told.
In researching the Canol Road, it became apparent to us that the hike might be one of the first locations we couldn't do haha! It looks like an absolute dream if you are experienced and prepared.
I'm a dual citizen from BC living in Seattle. I drove the Alaska highway with my brother in the middle of winter in a Honda Accord. Made it on snow tires most of way with no issues. We were almost home and about to head through Whistler when we hit a bolder in the road rounding a corner and cracked the engine block. Spent a week in Cache Creek while we waited for a new motor lol. Fun fact: it's gets so cold up there we had to leave the engine running in the car over night to keep the engine from freezing, come out in the morning with a big iceicle from the exhaust pipe to the ground.
There were Canadian soldiers working on the Alaska highway. My grandfather spent the majority of his time in the war working on it!
We mention it in the episode and description but have received enough comments we will edit our pinned comment! There absolutely were Canadians working alongside Americans.
As a Canadian of East Indian Origin, I thank you for introducing me to piece of history that you wouldn’t otherwise normally come across. Liked, subscribed and shared this video
Never herd about this in History class👍Amazing job as always guys, its always a pleasure to watch
Neither had we! Thanks for watching and the kind comment!
My grandfather was one of the Canadians that worked on this highway. Once the rough road bed was in by the military, contractors worked tirelessly getting it in shape for true traffic.
Very cool!
Absolutely fantastic! Keep them coming! I had no clue about this road.
Happy New Year from Alaska!! Much love to my Canadian brethren!! 🙂❤
Thank you for this video, we Alaskans truly love Canada.
🇺🇸❤🇨🇦
Thanks for watching! We so wished we could drive all the way to Alaska when we filmed!
In fact Canada 🇨🇦 and Alaska is one nation.. just borders!
Why?
@@rdacademic1635 ?
🇨🇦❤️🇺🇲
This was my Grandfathers contribution to the war. Walter Lee Roberts (Red, they also called him Jew on account of his enormously large ears) from Barney Alabama. He got the nickname Red not because he had red hair, But because everything he painted he painted red. I never got to know what he did during the War. The only story he ever told was about GD green peas. He was in Alaska I know and his group had gotten snowed in and supply's were cut off. By the time everything cleared the only the they had eaten for weeks were GD green peas. he never ate green peas again... Loved my Pawpaw Red. He never got angry the man had the most patients of any man I even knew. By the time he died he couldn't hear, could speak I would go by the nursing home once a week bring him debbie cakes take him to out to smoke. It wasn't till I grew up when and it was to late I realized what a treasure I had as a grandpa. My biggest regret is not learning about his struggle in Alaska. God bless that generation.
Amazing presentation! Happy that you incorporated the views of all affected parties including indigenous people!
a unit of US Army road crew, Black unit was being sent to Alaska Highway building during WW2. the unit of heavy road clearing equipment operated by Black fellows was intriquing enough to the people of Edmonton that played host to that unit near Christmas time. Edmonton people love Christmas and that year it was nearly ruined by heavy snow that was shuttiing down edmonton routes. The US Army unit cleared the streets of Edmonton and the folks there got to have a good Chritmas as a result and the Edmontonans never forgot, some even married some of those talented road equipment fellows, helping change Edmonton' demographic for all time... merry Christmas, one and all.
If you drive by Tetsa River BC you'll now see my finnishing work on both sides. 😁 Summer of '21. I also worked on Iron Creek hyway around 1995. Beautiful Country 😍
I always heard that when they first built the high way it wad not allow to go stright for that far of distance. They didn't want others to be able to use the high way as landing strip.
The terrain isn't overly conducive to straight lines, at least in the BC, Canada section.
It made it more difficult for enemies to bomb vehicles if not straight
I’ve driven the Alcan. Coincidentally I did it whenever I was in the US army headed to Alaska on assignment. I was 23 then. I’m 30 now. It was formative and the start of the biggest adventure of my life. A chapter that isn’t over yet, as I recently moved back to Alaska. NW Canada and the Alcan will always have a special place in my heart.
We the Canadians call this road as the Dawson creek road. Lol
I'm a Canadian and driven that road many times in the winter. It's beautiful and peaceful with the moose bison and silver wolf .
Extremely underrated channel, I’ve subscribed
I first rode the Alaska Highway in 1990 on my 78' Goldwing to Alaska, and it was quite the ride. They were trying to get all of it paved before the 50th anniversary, so there was still a lot of dust. Then, I went back in 2019 on my 2016 Suzuki Burgman. I definitely noticed a difference with the road. In 1990 there wasn't as much of a paved shoulder, and the trees seemed closer to the road. I don't remember any bicyclists back then, but sure saw plenty of them this trip. The best part for me this time was the stretch past Muncho Lake. I wish I could go up there every year. I love our friends up North.
I always get teary-eyed whenever I watch amazing historic moments from american-canadian history. Amazing video
This is a great video. I grew up in Alaska, and traveled the Alaska Highway a few times, so learning about its historical context was fun.
Felt like I was watching this on History Channel. Very well made. Interesting story!
Thanks for another infomative video. We were one of the RVers than drove the Al-Can in 2019. It’s amazing how much road building equipment was abandoned and is still visible all along the way
I’m not even from Canadia(I’m Tennesseean thank god) but I really enjoy these videos from Canadiana as they’re very interesting, well written, and very very well done. I don’t know why this channel doesn’t have every Canadian on the planet subscribed
Thanks so much for checking us out and the kind words!
Having seen documentaries on the building of the Alaskan Hwy I want to say this video is as informative as any of those other productions. I got to drive the highway driving to Fairbanks for work, though not the entire length. We took the Cassiar Highway from central BC and got onto the Alaskan Hwy just west of Watson Lake, YT. My God, the landscape along the way is beyond description! Pristine, grand, seemingly never ending. Grandeur only matched if not surpassed by the graciousness of every Canadian host we encountered. They knew we were far from home so we were always made to feel like we were at home.
My wife's father worked on this road. He went out by himself ahead of surveyors and construction crew to scout the way ahead.
There was more than once it was thought that some thing bad had happened to him and he wasn't coming back. One incident he told me of was a creek crossing he made walking on top of a dead tree that had fallen across the creek. On his way back to camp he came back to cross the creek but on the other side was a grizzly bear who had the same idea. My father-in-law walked away from the creek and stayed the night. Next morning the bear was gone. My father-in-law crossed the creek and continued back to camp.
His wife and my wife's older sister and brother were with him while he worked on this road.
He discovered several lakes and named one of them for his wife.
One of my old units helped build the highway and is now stationed in Alaska. I will never get to drive the highway but it is interesting history.
I grew up on that highway, my Dad used to sleep in a shack next to the highway, the truckers would wake him up to drag their rigs through the mud holes with his cat, since there was not a lot of traffic at the time he was the only operator at that spot, he got paid 24 7 and never had an easier job. When they improved it and filled in the mud holes he started driving transport trucks. you are quite right about the way the US army treated their black members. He told me about spotting a rig parked on a slope, he stopped, you always did, because people could die really fast in that cold. A young Black man hopped out and came over to him and asked "White boy, you got a heater in that rig,?" When Dad said yes the young soldier said "Just one minute" He walked back to the open door of his rig reached inside and released the brake, they watched the truck roll down the slope and over a steep bank, then the soldier in his light uniform hopped in with Dad. "If Uncle Sam can't buy me a winter coat and put a heater in the truck, Uncle Sam can drive the Damn thing himself!" It was around 20 below and the guy had just a uniform coat, fine for summer, but no winter parka. When they got to the next town Dad's story was that he arrived just after the terrible accident and luckily the soldier had managed to jump out before it went off the road.
In the 1970 s I was working for a few days at a Pump Station north of the International line and staying at a Lodge in Beaver Creek Yukon After work just South of the Alaska Yukon border I was driving when a couple of wheel appeared above my windshield. I panicked and slowed down and a small plane landed in front of me, I followed him into Beaver Creek and we both parked at the lodge and ate dinner together. He was flying from St Paul to Anchorage.
Wow!
I drove from St Louis to Anchorage in 7 days. It was an epic journey.
It is unfortunate you did not mention that not only did Canada pay the US for the cost of the road, but it then had to be rebuilt due to its poor quality. It was not mentioned that Canada provided the support service that enable the supply for the highway construction. Also, more recently, the US has refused to contribute to the ongoing cost of maintaining the northern section of the highway that is used exclusively for access to Alaska. It is so sad that all we ever hear is the American biased side of the Alcan rather than the whole story.
We did include that Canadians worked with the Americans within the episode, and expanded on that in the description. The Northwest Staging Route, in particular, was a major Canadian endeavor. Unfortunately the description has a character limit or we would have mentioned that the U.S. and Canada continue to argue over who should cover the costs of repairs and upgrades.
🇺🇸 God bless America, and thank y'all for the land!
You should have included some pictures of the original road that zig zagged along the straight right of way. It was like that even into the early 70's. The right of way was pretty much straight with the road being built like a snake to avoid strafing by enemy aircraft. I worked in Whitehorse in the late 60's and drove it in the winter to build gas pipeline.
I lived in Fort St John for several years arriving in 1992, and joined the celebration of the 50 years of the Alaska Hwy, workers, soldiers and others were invited back for Rendezvous’92.
It also explained why Fort St John, pop. 12,000 had an airport with a runway long enough to land a B52, or a Boeing 747. There was also a rivalry between Dawson Creek and Fort St. John because there was always a highway between the two towns, but Dawson Creek was designated Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway giving it terrific tourism bragging rights. Fort St John is still a little peeved.
the animation of the map at 2:10 is incredible, how'd you do it?
Thanks very much! It's a combination of a few new techniques we've had to learn this season. At its core it's a combination of two plugins: Geolayers 3 and Mettle Freeform Pro. Geolayers 3 is a plugin used by just about anything you see in documentary with map animations (if you aren't familiar) and Mettle is a plugin that works with the former to generate 3D displacement maps. The rest of it would be typical After Effects compositing.
Both programs take A LOT of time to get good results out of--we've been working with Geolayers going on a year now. This particular map would be the most ambitious thing we've attempted. It's a little rough around the edges but we hope it gets us a leg up on future map animations. Thanks for the comment and watching!
@@Canadiana The animation at 3:07 is also incredible. Great work!
This was great. I've always wanted to go to Yukon and travel that road just for the fantastic views. Now I know why it's there! Thank you. Very informative and very well done piece.
This was a great story, Thank you for taking the time to tell it!
The best video on the Alaskan Highway I’ve ever watched. Spectacular job.
I have traveled this road ,
it is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.
When I was in the military were did an exercise in Haines Junction and hiked up to a mountain that had one of those crashed planes. Inside was the signatures of everyone who has been there. Neat piece of history
Whoa that's very cool, do you happen to remember which mountain? Not sure we'd ever be able to make it there but it would be great to see!
@@Canadiana I'm pretty sure it was Mt. Bark to the north of Haines Junction
Drove from Anchorage to Arizona with my dad, a 7-day trip, and its one id gladly take again in a heart beat, it was unreal seeing so much land untouched by humans. A truly remarkable experience and one that everyone should take part in.
It was later rebuilt to a highway standard by Canadian Construction workers
Hi from Whitehorse. I k own the story and history well. This was well presented. The whole Pandemic time really reminded us here about who actually built the highway, and who has the right to drive on it. When the borders were closed people were making their way home to Alaska from the lower 48. It was mostly fine, but some took advantage of the situation and went for a vacation using their “rights” as a way in and then deviate from the direct drive to Alaska and instead going off the main path.
Let me say to anyone curious right now, our north is practically unnavigable.
my father and mother have stories of hauling truck loads up north, the area doesn't really open till winter comes in and the winter freezes the muskeg. We still have rural roads, they're just far and few.
Everyone do their part and share this channel with as many people as possible. Great work guys.
The road the Americans built had the quality of a cart track. with tight turns. The smooth nice lines you see on the vid was done by Cdn engineers and companies after WW2.
Also fun fact: the road doesn't go "across" Canada, it goes through one corner of it, basically Northeastern British Columbia and the Yukon Territory.
The greatest engineering feat since the Panama Canal.
Incredible production quality.
Great video man. I had no idea about the history of the Alaska hwy. Thanks for producing some great content
Thanks for watching!
My grandpa drove the original Alaska highway back in the day. He then worked on it as a foreman when they were rerouting it when he worked for the Yukon govt. highways dept. Used to always talk about his days spent on the Alaska highway, he loved it up north.
One fact omitted here was that the Army would name lakes as they went by them. You can still do that today in Canada if the lake is unnamed. In the Yukon section of that highway are two lakes, one after the other. The first is named SNAFU and the second is named TARFU. Army all the way!
I drove the Alcan for the the first time after having lived in Alaska my whole life. It is rugged just to drive, I can't imagine the hardships to build it. It is also stunningly beautiful for every single mile.
great video, super interesting topic, great details and incredibly well produced!
Wow I am so glad I came across this video the production quality is exceptional.
my family and I trekked this road when i was younger. twice. once north and once south after living in Alaska for a year.
We drive up to Dawson Creek to see family. Thankful for all the sacrifice it took to build the highway.
Great to see people still producing new content about our area!
So stoked for this one! Did part of a grad paper on sections of this road!
I was on part of this highway in July 2022. Good coverage. Thank you.
We drove up to Anchorage Alaska on the Alcan in 1986, I still remember when it switched from pavement to gravel for a section. I don't know when they paved it. I left Alaska 5 years ago and now its all paved. Beautiful drive.
I've driven this hwy so many times and I didn't know half of this! This was a great video with some great research
Another masterpiece ❤
My Dad was so n the Air Force. My family drove from Miami to Anchorage via the ALCAN in 1957 and then again in 1960 we left Alaska. It was so remote and rough. Very little asphalt, if any back then. Every morning, we waited for the snow plows to clear the road before we left the hotel. The snow banks along the side of the road were huge & seem to draw vehicles like a magnet. It so much more developed now. I'm not sure how we made except the grace of God!
Trivia: Hwy 2 from Carcross YT to Skagway AK, and Hwy 3 from Haines Junction YT to Haines AK are both mostly in Canada. The maintenance and any upgrade costs are paid for by the USA, since there's no reason for them to exist other than to provide a land connection to those two AK cities.
super interesting and well made video mate especially for such a small channel good onya mate keep’em coming
Dawson Creek! Mile 0 City of the Alaska Highway! My home town! Our most favourite attraction is the road leaving town😂! But growing up it was super cool to see all the different license plates from all the states pass through! The history of the highway is truly fascinating and the engineering is incredible!
Great video, awesome channel and great production! Best of luck!
Hope there's more on the Canol Road project! It's an arduous hiking route today! And an interesting story! 😎✌🏼
I have enjoyed your commentary on the outer ends of the Alaska Highway, a different perspective to my focus, thank you.
With my passion for narrow gauge railway history, I have researched, and written about it on Remembrance Day, about the White Pass and Yukon Railway's contribution to the Alaska Highway's construction. This line was built to tap the 1898 gold rush, but opened after the rush itself had waned. By wartime the line was in need of upgrading, and a lot of extra rolling stock required. Dozens of used locomotives from the lower 48 were commandeered, accompanied by 100s of freight cars too.
Here the US military ran and maintained the railway in concert with the civilian employees. Dozens of trains traversed the line's 110 mile length daily from Skagway Alaska to Whitehorse YT., a feat previously unheard of, ferrying road building equipment, trucks and supplies to the crossing of the Highway between Carcross and Whitehorse. There too, the railway's stern wheel paddle steamers connected and aided the effort.
Many pieces of WWll railway artifacts from the WP&Y are preserved and some operational all across the US and on the line.
Carcross had been the location of one of the US tent cities for the segregated soldiers and I've seen a video on them there.
One of the highlights of my railfanning adventures was riding northbound in the cab of locomotive 93 and blowing the horn, {two long, a short and a long}, for the Alaska Highway's crossing in 1975. I flew CP Air to Fort St. John, then changed planes to Whitehorse, not realising until now I had followed that early supply line, neato!
It's quite a scenic railway and well worth a visit.
Favorite part of the alaska highway is muncho lake. Its so gorgeous but kind of sketchy to drive right beside a lake lol
As a kid I remember hockey trips out to Haines Junction from Whitehorse. Had an old tractor instead of a Zamboni to clear the ice. Or sometimes it was the hose and snow shovel method.
I'm alaskan and grew up going on road trips through Alaska, Yukon, BC and Alberta. Those were my stomping grounds; my home. Now, post covid, I'm a foreigner in this land. Times change, and not for the better.
Did ya save the parachutist @4:02?
Great content, vey informative and highly enjoyable. Thanx. Keep 'em coming.
haha yes he survived! Though that runway is known for having Grizzlies around it (at least when we were there).
My Mom's town is on the Alaskan Highway, Fort St John, its amazing how much the town has grown from the time she left it to today.
from what I gather the Alaskan highway is a god send of a road in the northern parts of BC.
I've lived in Dawson Creek all my life. This has been a part of my consciousness all along.
This is a beautifully researched video that does a great job addressing the project's intersection with race, geography, and the present.
Thank you!
incredible story. So much information. Well done. I love the history.
The Alaskan Highway
Winding in and winding out
When one begins to have the doubt
About the lout that built this route
Wash he going to hell or coming out?
Learned that poem years ago when my dad and I were hauling a load up to Fairbanks AK. Roughest road we'd ever been in (and we recalled the concrete hwy 17). The only thing that made that trip survivable was the sheer beauty. Ok...looks a lot like northern BC or Alberta, but still. It was beautiful. And if you're there in mid summer, you'll understand why they call it the land of the midnight sun lol
Oh is that true?? Is it very hot? Humid?
I’m practically coming out of my seat, dying to travel this highway now! As I read your comment, I’m realizing how much I just assumed a brisk, September afternoon drive.
I find it hard to believe that there’s much you could say to dampen my will to check this off my bucket list ha, since I’ve already satisfied all of the major road trips that I care to, stateside… but have you been on there more recently?
I would figure the scenery to be overwhelmingly beautiful
NICE! Always stoked to see more of yalls videos.
Amazing production quality! Subscribed!