Alaska Route 1 (AK-1) is a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...
in the
southern part of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
. It runs from
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
northeast and east to
Tok by way of
Anchorage
Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...
. It is one of two routes in Alaska to contain significant portions of
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
: the Seward Highway in south Anchorage and the Glenn Highway between Anchorage and Palmer.
AK-1 is also known by the named highways it traverses:
*
Sterling Highway
The Sterling Highway is a state highway in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Alaska, leading from the Seward Highway at Tern Lake Junction, south of Anchorage, to Homer. To assist in agricultural transport and also open area ...
from
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
to Tern Lake Junction
*
Seward Highway
The Seward Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends from Seward, Alaska, Seward to Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage. It was completed in 1951 and runs through the scenic Kenai Peninsula, Chugach National Forest, Turnagain Arm ...
from Tern Lake Junction to
Anchorage
Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...
*
Glenn Highway
The Glenn Highway (part of Alaska Route 1) is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, extending from Anchorage near Merrill Field to Glennallen on the Richardson Highway. The Tok Cut-Off is often considered part of the Glenn Highway, for a ...
from Anchorage to
Glennallen
*
Richardson Highway from Glennallen and
Gakona Junction
* Tok Cut-Off from Gakona Junction to
Tok
Route description
AK-1 begins at the
Alaska Marine Highway
The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska.
The Alaska Marine Highway System operates along the south-central ...
's
Homer Ferry Terminal at the tip of
Homer Spit just south of the end of the
Sterling Highway
The Sterling Highway is a state highway in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Alaska, leading from the Seward Highway at Tern Lake Junction, south of Anchorage, to Homer. To assist in agricultural transport and also open area ...
in
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
. It follows the entire Sterling Highway through
Soldotna to the junction with the
Seward Highway
The Seward Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends from Seward, Alaska, Seward to Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage. It was completed in 1951 and runs through the scenic Kenai Peninsula, Chugach National Forest, Turnagain Arm ...
north of
Seward, where it meets the north end of
AK-9. There it turns north and follows the Seward Highway to its end in
Anchorage
Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...
, and follows the
one-way pair
A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities.
Descriptio ...
s of Ingra and Gambell Streets and 6th and 5th Avenues, continuing east on 5th Avenue to the beginning of the
Glenn Highway
The Glenn Highway (part of Alaska Route 1) is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, extending from Anchorage near Merrill Field to Glennallen on the Richardson Highway. The Tok Cut-Off is often considered part of the Glenn Highway, for a ...
. AK-1 follows the entire length of the
Glenn Highway
The Glenn Highway (part of Alaska Route 1) is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, extending from Anchorage near Merrill Field to Glennallen on the Richardson Highway. The Tok Cut-Off is often considered part of the Glenn Highway, for a ...
, passing the south end of the
George Parks Highway (
AK-3) near
Wasilla and meeting the
Richardson Highway (
AK-4) near
Glennallen. A short
concurrency north along AK-4 takes AK-1 to the
Tok Cut-Off, which it follows northeast to its end at the