After spending seemingly hours talking to flag people while waiting for a pilot car, and after traveling countless miles behind those pilot cars, I feel qualified to make more than causal comments about construction along the Alaskan Highway and the major arteries in Alaska.
Suspension concession:
Parts of the Alaskan Highway and some of the highways in Alaska had to be built on permafrost – not desirable, but necessary. Despite the engineers' best efforts, the pavement above the permafrost stores heat, which melts the permafrost and in turn causes the road bed to drop. Then, the winter freeze will cause an uplifting of parts of the roads. Hitting frost heaves while traveling along at 60 mph, 96.8 kph, if traveling in Canada, is not good for the suspension of any RV.
Here we find the first economic impact. In every burg, village, or town of more than 50 or so people, one will find a "suspension" shop that earns the livelihood of not a few people by selling parts for and repairing suspension problems, including broken springs and shock mounts. As we traveled northward from Destruction Bay (perhaps the name was intended as a warning) we noticed that red flags were placed along the road to warn of frost heaves. One then might expect that frost heaves would not be a problem; all one has to do is slow down when a red flag is approached.
Well, it's not that easy. According to a great book,
Loose Moose, there is a limited number of flags. It is rumored that this limit is a legislative limit, but I don't really know. According to the book, the flags are moved to the new frost heaves each spring. One is suppose to remember where the old ones are.
Windshield concession:
Once everyone has had a chance to learn where the frost heaves are located, road crews are sent in to pulverize the pavement.
This produces a surface that one can drive on without fear of doing further suspension damage.
It also produces pebbles that are just the right size for tire treads to pick up and throw. It is easy to stay far enough behind vehicles traveling in the same direction as you. But the vehicles traveling in the opposite direction also throw rocks that you can then drive into and crack your windshield.
Although not as plentiful as suspension shops, there are many glass shops to handle needed replacements.
Go and have fun. We're ready to go again
Tom
