Alaska Route 2

Alaska Route 2
Elliott Highway, Steese Highway (part), Richardson Highway (part), and Alaska Highway
Route information
Maintained by Alaska DOT&PF
Length:	456.91 mi (735.33 km)
Major junctions
West end:	Manley Hot Springs
	AK-11 (Dalton Hwy) at Livengood AK-3 (Parks Hwy) in Fairbanks AK-4 (Richardson Hwy) in Delta Jct AK-1 (Tok Cut-Off Hwy) at Tok
East end:	Hwy 1 (Alaska Hwy) towards Whitehorse, YT
Highway system
Alaska Routes ← AK-1 AK-3 →

Alaska Route 2 is a state highway in the central and east-central portions of the U.S. state of Alaska. It runs from Manley Hot Springs via Fairbanks to the Yukon Territory, including the entire length of the Alaska Highway in the state.

Route description

Main articles: Elliott Highway, Steese Highway, Richardson Highway, and Alaska Highway

Route 2 begins at a dead end near the Tanana River at Manley Hot Springs, where the Elliott Highway begins. Until the junction with the Dalton Highway (Alaska Route 11) at Livengood, Route 2 is a minor road used only for local access; beyond Livengood it carries traffic to and from the Dalton Highway. At the junction with Alaska Route 6 (Steese Highway) at Fox, the Elliott Highway ends and Route 2 follows the Steese Highway south into Fairbanks. The Steese Highway becomes the Richardson Highway at Airport Way, the former route of the Parks Highway (Alaska Route 3). The Parks Highway junction is now about a mile south along the Richardson Highway, which then leaves Fairbanks to the southeast. In Delta Junction, at the northwest end of the Alaska Highway, Route 2 leaves the Richardson Highway for the Alaska Highway, while the Richardson Highway continues south as Alaska Route 4. After passing the ends of the Tok Cut-Off Highway (Alaska Route 1) at Tok and the Taylor Highway (Alaska Route 5) just beyond, Route 2 becomes Yukon Highway 1 at the Canadian border.

Route 2 is an unsigned part of the Interstate Highway System east of Fairbanks. The entire length of Interstate A-2 follows Route 2 from the Parks Highway (Interstate A-4) junction in Fairbanks to Tok, east of which Route 2 carries Interstate A-1 off the Tok Cut-Off Highway to the national border. Only a short piece of the Richardson Highway in Fairbanks is built to freeway standards.

The Alaska Highway portion of Route 2 was once proposed to be part of the US Highway System, to be signed as part of U.S. Route 97.

Major intersections

Borough	Location	Mile	Road(s)	Notes
Unorganized	Manley Hot Springs	0.00	Dead end
	Livengood	85.69	AK-11 (Dalton Highway)
Fairbanks North Star	Fox	153.86	AK-6 east (Steese Highway)
	Fairbanks	162.94	Johansen Expressway
		164.96	Airport Way
		165.75	South Cushman Street	Interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		165.97	AK-3 south (Parks Highway) – Nenana, Denali Park	Interchange
		167.28	Lakeview Drive, Old Richardson Highway - Cushman Business Area	Interchange with at-grade intersection eastbound; no westbound entrance
		169.93	Badger Road	Interchange
	North Pole	177.50	Badger Road, Santa Claus Lane	Interchange
Unorganized	Delta Junction	259.28	AK-4 south (Richardson Highway)
	Tok	366.91	AK-1 west (Tok Cut-Off Highway)
	Tetlin Junction	379.36	AK-5 north (Taylor Highway)
International border, Yukon Territory of Canada		456.91	Hwy 1 east (Alaska Highway)

Plans

A 500 mile road reaching Nome in western Alaska has been proposed at various times. Such a road had been suggested as early as 1957. From 2009 onward, there has been a more intense political debate. A detailed cost investigation was funded by the state government, which gave an estimated cost of $2.3 to $2.7 billion, or approximately $5 million per mile. This price tag is higher than previously assumed. This has caused hesitation about the project. The debate is continuing in 2011.