Alaska-Canada Highway Mile 0

The Alaska-Canadian Highway, also known as the Alcan Highway or simply the Alaska Highway, was an ambitious engineering project constructed during World War II. It has been described as the largest and most difficult construction project since the Panama Canal. 

The highway begins at Dawson Creek in British Columbia, where this sign and a small cairn mark the start of the road. From there, the 1,400-mile-long highway snakes northwest through Canada to Alaska. The majority of the roadway is actually in Canada. When it was completed in 1942, the highway measured about 1,700 miles (2,700 kilometers) long, but because of rerouting and reconstruction, it is now some 300 miles shorter than that original length.

In Fairbanks, Alaska, another signpost marks the (unofficial) end of the historic route.