Taylor Highway
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2023) |
 Taylor Highway | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Taylor Highway highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Alaska DOT&PF | ||||
| Length | 160 mi (260 km) | |||
| Existed | 1953–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  AK-2 (Alaska Highway) at Tetlin Junction | |||
| Top of the World Highway at Jack Wade Junction | ||||
| North end | Front Street in Eagle | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Alaska | |||
| Boroughs | Unorganized Borough | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
The Taylor Highway (numbered Alaska Route 5) is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends 160 miles (258 km) from Tetlin Junction, about 11 miles (17 km) east of Tok on the Alaska Highway, to Eagle. The southern 96 miles from the Alaska Highway to Jack Wade Junction is designated as Alaska Route 5. The entire highway formerly carried this designation, but the north end of Route 5 has been rerouted to follow the Top of the World Highway to the Canadian border.
Route description
[edit]The first 60 miles (97 km) of the highway is paved; the rest is gravel. The highway is closed to automobile traffic from October through April, but is used by snowmobiles in the winter. The large Fortymile caribou herd roams near the highway. The highway also provides access to the Fortymile River National Wild and Scenic River system.
History
[edit]
Wagon trails had supplied Eagle, Chicken, and the historic Fortymile Mining District since the nineteenth century. The Fortymile Road was established in 1951 and later renamed in honor of ARC President (1932–1948) Ike P. Taylor. It connects to the Top of the World Highway 96 miles (154 km) from Tetlin, at Jack Wade Junction, allowing road access to Dawson City, Yukon during parts of the year. It is 79 miles (127 km) from Jack Wade Junction to Dawson City.
Major intersections
[edit]The entire route is in Unorganized Borough.
| Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tetlin Junction | 0 | 0.0 | AK-2 (Alaska Highway) – Tok, Canada | Southern terminus of Alaska Route 5 & Taylor Highway | |
| Chicken | 66 | 106 | Airport Road | To Chicken Airport | |
| Jack Wade Junction | 96 | 154 |  AK-5 (Top of the World Highway North) – Dawson City | Western terminus of Top of the World Highway | |
| Eagle | 160 | 260 | Front Street | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
[edit]- Taylor Highway
- Taylor Highway is an iconic drive in Alaska
- [1] Alaska DOT&PF document showing Route 5 reroute onto Top of World Highway, see table 2D-100.
