Alaska Highway road report, Haines Junction to Anchorage

We recently travelled what many think is the worst portion of the Alaska Highway and i thought i'd post up a road report.

On April 10th we took the car ferry from Bellingham to Haines, arriving on the 13th. From Haines we entered Canada and went up to Haines Junction, on the Alaska Highway. Haines Junction to Destruction Bay was uneventful. The frost heaves really start after Destruction Bay and continue to Beaver Creek (the last town in Canada before you hit the Alaska border), a distance of about 120 miles/190km. We transitioned this stretch in about 2.5 - 2.75 hours so an average speed of around 45 mph. We were in a 3/4 ton pickup - no camper. With a camper you might want to plan a bit slower speed…

The frost heaves are still there! They are well marked with orange flags. I would recommend traveling this stretch in daylight if possible - the flags and humps and bumps are a lot easier to see and anticipate. We've travelled the Alaska Highway about a dozen times and the bumps seem to be about average - no huge whoop-de-dos where you bounce your head on the roof of your rig, but several where it was definitely prudent to slow down to 25mph.

There were several portions of this section that were gravel. A couple were 10-15 km long, several were very short bits - less than a km. It appears they are getting ready to resurface and do some construction as soon as the weather permits. There was no equipment staged in those areas when we went thru.

Don't let your guard down after passing thru Beaver Creek… there were still a few heaves before you reach the US Border station.

After getting into Alaska there are still a few frost heaves on the route between Tok and Glenallen. Not as well marked as the Canadian side, but some signs.

There were several places along this route in AK where road construction equipment was in place. I'm sure they'll start working as soon as possible, but no action when we went thru.

So bottom line is to expect to be slow for a few hours along that portion of the Highway and be ready for some humps, bumps and construction delays.

I hope all that are visiting this year have a safe and scenic trip to Alaska!

SkipStock
Explorer
Apr 19, 2015
Thanks ACE for the timely report. We're headed South from Anchorage first week of June. Though we're well aware of that section of road, it's just a good reminder and reinforcement to take that piece with extra caution and awareness.

Until you've actually had that "Oh S,,,," feeling in the pit of your stomach the millisecond before you hit it and realize you should have slowed down EVEN more, it's hard to explain to someone how destructive and dangerous frost heaves can be.......

Safe travel everyone
Fer2005
Explorer
Apr 19, 2015
explorenorth wrote:
Charles2222 wrote:
A little off topic,but if you like cinnamon (sic)rolls stop at mm 336 Johnson Crossing.have had them a few times

Johnson's Crossing has new owners but the old owner came back to teach them her cinnamon bun recipe (and they learned it well) :) Your mileage is way off, though, it's at Km 1296 (see it here).

It must've opened mid-June or so last year. We passed it twice and it was closed both times.
aces-n-eights
Explorer
Apr 19, 2015
AKsilvereagle, i agree completely. The Highway changes from year to year - it really is an engineering nightmare to maintain the roads in this part of the world.

I think the bottom line is that folks that have never driven this part need to expect a slower pace. Many will travel 3,000 or 4,000 miles or more to get to Alaska and need to recognize that this 150 to 200 miles section will be a slow go. Expect it! Plan for it! Embrace it!
explorenorth
Explorer
Apr 19, 2015
Charles2222 wrote:
A little off topic,but if you like cinnamon (sic)rolls stop at mm 336 Johnson Crossing.have had them a few times

Johnson's Crossing has new owners but the old owner came back to teach them her cinnamon bun recipe (and they learned it well) :) Your mileage is way off, though, it's at Km 1296 (see it here).
Charles2222
Explorer
Apr 18, 2015
A little off topic,but if you like cinnamon (sic)rolls stop at mm 336 Johnson Crossing.have had them a few times
AKsilvereagle
Explorer II
Apr 18, 2015
explorenorth wrote:

Whitehorse to Haines Junction has more than a few nasty ones, too, and calls for care.

My first trip on the Alaska Highway was in 1985, and this Whitehorse to Haines Junction section used to be the smoothest part of the entire highway throughout the mid 1990's, and was still in good shape in 2008 after a long absence of travelling thru there (at least in my perspective)....

Since 2009, the troubled sections of Whitehorse to Haines Junction part of the highway have been resurfaced twice that I know of, and the now two real serious troubled spots are still there, in which I crawl thru them in my old camper rig putting on my flashers (5 to 10 mph) which frustrates other traffic behind me that are in a hurry.

Once the warm temps are here to stay, the buckled permafrost sections of the Alaska Highway roadway will be even in worse condition than what the OP has reported, however in my old camper rig I refuse to potentially tear up, driving between Destruction Bay and Beaver Creek will usually average 22 mph to 24 mph so it is a slow go for me...2010 year was the worst condition I have seen the Destruction Bay and Beaver Creek stretch although the White River to Beaver Creek section in 2014 was thee worst I ever seen it, and I travelled thru the Yukon portion of the Alaska Highway a good 20+ times.

In 2014 the Beaver Creek to the border section of the Alaska Highway was really nice, but I would not count on it to last more than three years before it starts decaying back to it's usual state.

Since 1989 that I know of, Alaska DOT has resurfaced and reconditioned the Alaska Highway stretch between the border and Northway Junction four different times, and eventually those troubled sections of the road keep coming back.

The road is by means drivable, so for those who have not driven this portion of the Alaska Highway before, do your pocketbook and rig a huge favor and really slow down on the troubled portions if you do not want potential problems or delays on your RV adventures.
sue_t
Explorer
Apr 18, 2015
explorenorth wrote:
Whitehorse to Haines Junction has more than a few nasty ones, too, and calls for care.

A few firewood haulers between the Junction and Whitehorse have paid the price this spring. It isn't uncommon to see them limping along or broken down beside the highway.

One of the heaves launches my Honds Fit real nicely. :B
The same frost heave is wicked on our F-250, which has harder suspension.
explorenorth
Explorer
Apr 18, 2015
Whitehorse to Haines Junction has more than a few nasty ones, too, and calls for care.
bobsallyh
Explorer II
Apr 18, 2015
Having gone thru there last June with our fiver, it isn't you might want to slow down from Destruction Bay to Beaver Creek, you WILL slow down or call the mobile welder!
pigman1
Explorer
Apr 17, 2015
Wow! Thanks for the report.

Sounds like the Beaver Creek to the US border is vastly improved. Our average speed on that leg has been down to 15-20mph some years.

We leave June 4 for our 6th trip up since 2006. A few weeks late as we have a granddaughter graduating high school June 3.