Courtesy Pam Dunklebarger / Alaska-Highway.org

Dawson Creek, British Columbia – The construction of the Alaska Highway, which today stretches 2,232 km (1,387 mi) from Dawson Creek, B.C. into Alaska, is considered an engineering marvel. Despite swampy tundra and rocky mountains, it was constructed by 30,000 US Army soldiers and civilians in just nine months! The project was launched during World War II to connect Alaska with the rest of the United States, via Canada. The original length was about 2,700 km (1,700 mi.) It’s said that it was built purposely with turns so enemy bombers could not easily wipe military convoys and supply vehicles by flying over them in a straight line. Over the years sections have been straightened out. Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway is in Dawson Creek, B.C., and then it crosses into the Yukon near Watson Lake (which as a forest of more than 72,000 signs left by travellers.) The highway ends in Delta Junction, Alaska