(2:15 min) (22 of 27) Haul Road -- Environmental issues No visible long-term damage today. There was some in the early days. Some spots were really bad looking at the time.
(2:44 min) (14 of 27) Assistance from the community
Alaska Road Commission built roads with the assistance of local miners. The miners would volunteer their time, fuel, and equipment.
(2:48 min) (26 of 27) Road has adverse effect on Native lifestyle Has adverse effect on Native lifestyle but not necessarily to Native people. Not everybody will fare equally.
(2:57 min) (10 of 19) Driving the Richardson Road #2 Thompson Pass too steep; had to be pulled; didn't have fuel pumps back then. 7 days to Fairbanks. Stopped at the News Miner offices and Pete Steele's Grocery.
(3:21 min.) (12 of 27) Road to Livengood Road to Livengood followed miners. Livengood to Eureka began with pressure from the miners as well as a dream to get the road to Nome or Kotzebue.
(3:26 min.) (02 of 27) Family history: Father
Father from Norway at 10 years old. 1896 came to Alaska for the Hope/Sunrise gold rush. Father carried mail from Seward to Matanuska Valley. Father wouldn't eat Hooligan. Ran a transport boat...
(3:30 min) (15 of 19) New hire Hired George Butrovich, the brother of Johnny Butrovich. He was easy to teach, understood quickly. Worked hard. In 1927, George left him for the Road Commission and one year later he was the shop foreman at...
(3:39 min) (09 of 19) Driving the Richardson Road Boat to Valdez, then on to Fairbanks via Model T. Stream crossings, rough terrain and speaking with a construction crew manager. Splashed the distributor cap.
(3:46 min) (24 of 27) Road planning and obstacles
Mining drove some of the road planning, but ease was a factor as well. Kennecott and Anaconda Mines were reasons to try and reach Nome. Native Claims Act put lots of right-of-way issues in...
(3:57 min.) (09 of 27) Denali Highway
One of the complaints is that the Road Commission did most of their own work and contracted out very little. There was no profit in bringing the equipment all the way here. Setting up base and...
(4:06 min) (21 of 27) Haul Road -- Anuktuvuk Pass vs. Detrich Pass
There was some uncertainty as to whether or not trucks could make it over the Detrich Pass. Winter Road only used for two years.
(4:08 min) (16 of 27) Haul Road
Road built to get supplies to oil fields up north. Word from Juneau said to go ahead and build from Livengood to Yukon River.
(4:11 min) (20 of 27) Haul Road -- Cook & conditions
Cook volunteered to go along when he heard about project. He handed out cookies to the kids, helped in building community relations. Construction was moving slow; there were just not...
(4:15 min) (19 of 27) Haul Road -- Bettles
Once they made it to Bettles they had to refit equipment. There was too much wind north of Bettles, canvas was okay for a while but had to build with more substantial metal and wood. Snow ramps to...
(4:43 min.) (08 of 27) Start of contracting
First job was building the bridge between Illinois St. and College Road over Noyes Slough. Lots of paperwork, everything was an emergency since there was no experience with how to do the simplest...
(4:50 min) (16 of 19) Popularity of road travel Was able to work on 35 cars at a time. Traveled to Detroit for a General Motors dealers' convention. Visited family before returning to Alaska. Met, courted and married his wife, Miss Flora...
(5:11 min) (27 of 27) Final Comments
Winter road north from Eagle and Circle to the DEW line. Built by Alaska Freightline. LaTourneau trains, made for the desert, were not very successful here. Less paperwork makes for more fun in the...