The Interstate Highways in Alaska are all owned and maintained by the US state 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 ...

. The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is responsible for the maintenance and operations of the

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

s. The Interstate Highway System in Alaska comprises four highways that cover . The longest of these is Interstate A-1 (A-1), at long, while the shortest route is A-3, at long. All Interstates in Alaska are unsigned and are not generally referred to by their highway numbers. Interstates in Alaska follow the numbering system Interstate A-n, where n represents the number of the Interstate. This follows the similar numbering systems for

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The Interstate Highway System was expanded to Alaska in 1976, by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1976, which defined the system for Interstates in Alaska and Puerto Rico under . Most of the lengths of the Interstates in Alaska are not constructed to

Interstate Highway standards Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway t ...

but are small, rural, two-lane

undivided highway A single carriageway (British English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation/median strip to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road is a type of single carriageway ...

s. Title 23 provides that "Highways on the Interstate System in Alaska and Puerto Rico shall be designed in accordance with such geometric and construction standards as are adequate for current and probable future traffic demands and the needs of the locality of the highway." Some portions of these highways are built to Interstate standards, though. 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 ...

, part of A-3, is built to freeway standards 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 ...

. 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 ...

, which is part of A-1, is built to freeway standards from Anchorage to Wasilla. A very small portion of the George Parks Highway, A-4, is constructed to freeway standards in Wasilla. In and around Fairbanks, the Richardson Highway, part of A-2, is constructed to freeway standards. In addition to these highways, the Johansen Expressway, in Fairbanks, and the

Minnesota Drive Expressway The Minnesota Drive Expressway is a south–north controlled-access highway, expressway located in the city of Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The expressway includes a small portion of O'Malley Road, which is also built t ...

, in Anchorage, are constructed to expressway standards.

Routes

Gallery

File:Glenn Highway and Mount Drum.jpg, The

, eastbound near Glennallen, is part of A-1. File:Richardson Highway Badger Road Interchange.jpg, An interchange between the Richardson Highway, part of A-2, and Badger Road in Fairbanks File:Highway, bay, and mountains, Alaska.jpg, 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 ...

, westbound near

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 ...

, is part of A-3. File:Parks Highway to Fairbanks.jpg, The George Parks Highway, which comprises the entirety of A-4

References

External links

Photos of Alaska Interstate Highway ends

Alaska Interstates
at AARoads' Interstate Guide {{Interstates

Interstate The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National H ...

Routes

Gallery

See also

References

External links