Alaska Route 1
Encyclopedia
Alaska Route 1 is a state highway
in the southern portion of the U.S. state
of Alaska
. It runs from Homer
northeast and east to Tok
by way of Anchorage
. It is the only route in Alaska to contain significant portions of freeway: the Seward Highway in south Anchorage and the Glenn Highway between Anchorage and Palmer.
's Homer Ferry Terminal at the end of the Sterling Highway
in Homer. It follows the entire Sterling Highway through Soldotna to the junction with the Seward Highway
north of Seward, where it meets the north end of Alaska Route 9. There it turns north and follows the Seward Highway to its end in Anchorage, and follows the one-way pair
s of Ingra and Gambell Streets and 6th and 5th Avenues, continuing east on 5th Avenue to the beginning of the Glenn Highway
. Route 1 follows the entire length of the Glenn Highway
, passing the south end of the George Parks Highway
(Alaska Route 3) near Wasilla and meeting the Richardson Highway
(Alaska Route 4) near Glennallen. A short overlap north along Route 4 takes Route 1 to the Tok Cut-Off Highway, which it follows northeast to its end at the Alaska Highway
(Alaska Route 2
) at Tok.
The majority of Route 1 is part of the Interstate Highway System
; only the route between Homer and Soldotna does not carry an unsigned Interstate designation. The entire length of Interstate A-3 follows Route 1 from the Kenai Spur Highway in Soldotna to the turn in downtown Anchorage; there Interstate A-1 begins, running to Tok along Route 1. (A-1 continues to the Yukon
border along Alaska Route 2
, the Alaska Highway
.) Only a short portion of the Seward Highway south of downtown Anchorage and a longer portion of the Glenn Highway northeast to Route 3 are built to freeway standards; the proposed Highway to Highway Connection would link these through downtown.
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
in the southern portion of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. It runs from Homer
Homer, Alaska
Homer is a city located in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population was 5,364. One of Homer's nicknames is "the cosmic hamlet by the sea"; another is "the end of the road"...
northeast and east to Tok
Tok, Alaska
Tok is a census-designated place in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 1,393 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
by way of Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
. It is the only route in Alaska to contain significant portions of freeway: the Seward Highway in south Anchorage and the Glenn Highway between Anchorage and Palmer.
Route description
Route 1 begins at the Alaska Marine HighwayAlaska Marine Highway
The Alaska Marine Highway or the Alaska Marine Highway System is a ferry service operated by the government of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska....
's Homer Ferry Terminal at the end of the Sterling Highway
Sterling Highway
The Sterling Highway is a 142-mile highway in the Southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, leading from the Seward Highway at Tern Lake Junction, south of Anchorage, to Homer....
in Homer. It follows the entire Sterling Highway through Soldotna to the junction with the Seward Highway
Seward Highway
The Seward Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends 127 miles from Seward to Anchorage. It was completed in 1951 and runs through the scenic Kenai Peninsula and Turnagain Arm, for which it was designated an All-American Road by the U.S...
north of Seward, where it meets the north end of Alaska Route 9. There it turns north and follows the Seward Highway to its end in Anchorage, and follows the one-way pair
One-way pair
A one-way pair, one-way couple, or just couplet is a pair of parallel, usually one-way streets that carry opposite directions of a signed route or major traffic flow, or sometimes opposite directions of a bus or streetcar route....
s of Ingra and Gambell Streets and 6th and 5th Avenues, continuing east on 5th Avenue to the beginning of the Glenn Highway
Glenn Highway
-References:* Pasch, A. D., K. C. May. 2001. Taphonomy and paleoenvironment of hadrosaur from the Matanuska Formation in South-Central Alaska. In: Mesozioc Vertebrate Life. Ed.s Tanke, D. H., Carpenter, K., Skrepnick, M. W. Indiana University Press. Pages 219-236.-External links:**...
. Route 1 follows the entire length of the Glenn Highway
Glenn Highway
-References:* Pasch, A. D., K. C. May. 2001. Taphonomy and paleoenvironment of hadrosaur from the Matanuska Formation in South-Central Alaska. In: Mesozioc Vertebrate Life. Ed.s Tanke, D. H., Carpenter, K., Skrepnick, M. W. Indiana University Press. Pages 219-236.-External links:**...
, passing the south end of the George Parks Highway
George Parks Highway
The George Parks Highway , usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles from the Glenn Highway 35 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska Interior...
(Alaska Route 3) near Wasilla and meeting the Richardson Highway
Richardson Highway
The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, running 368 miles from Valdez to Fairbanks. It is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 2 from there to Fairbanks. It is also connects segments of Alaska Route 1 between the Glenn Highway and the...
(Alaska Route 4) near Glennallen. A short overlap north along Route 4 takes Route 1 to the Tok Cut-Off Highway, which it follows northeast to its end at the Alaska Highway
Alaska Highway
The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon...
(Alaska Route 2
Alaska Route 2
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:...
) at Tok.
The majority of Route 1 is part of the Interstate Highway System
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
; only the route between Homer and Soldotna does not carry an unsigned Interstate designation. The entire length of Interstate A-3 follows Route 1 from the Kenai Spur Highway in Soldotna to the turn in downtown Anchorage; there Interstate A-1 begins, running to Tok along Route 1. (A-1 continues to the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
border along Alaska Route 2
Alaska Route 2
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:...
, the Alaska Highway
Alaska Highway
The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon...
.) Only a short portion of the Seward Highway south of downtown Anchorage and a longer portion of the Glenn Highway northeast to Route 3 are built to freeway standards; the proposed Highway to Highway Connection would link these through downtown.
Major intersections
| Borough | Location | Mile | Road(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenai Peninsula Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska -National protected areas:* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ** Chiswell Islands** Tuxedni Wilderness* Chugach National Forest * Katmai National Park and Preserve ** Katmai Wilderness... |
Homer | 0.00 | Beginning of state maintenance (Land's End Resort) | |
| 0.09 | Ferry Terminal Road - Homer Ferry Terminal | |||
| Soldotna | 81.03 | Kenai Spur Highway - Kenai | ||
| 138.18 | ||||
| Municipality of Anchorage Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States... |
Anchorage Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States... |
179.72 | Portage Glacier Road - Whittier | |
| South end of freeway | ||||
| 218.39 | 154th Avenue | |||
| 218.81 | Old Seward Highway, Rabbit Creek Road | |||
| 219.37 | DeArmoun Road | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| 220.48 | Huffman Road | |||
| 221.45 | O'Malley Road | |||
| 222.96 | Dimond Boulevard | |||
| 223.66 | 76th Avenue | Southbound exit only | ||
| 224.46 | Dowling Road | Exits to barbell roundabout interchange Roundabout interchange A roundabout interchange is a type of interchange between a controlled access highway such as a motorway or freeway, and a minor road, in which the slip roads to and from the motorway carriageways converge at a single roundabout, which is grade-separated from the motorway lanes with bridges... . |
||
| 225.46 | Tudor Road | |||
| 226.01 | 36th Avenue | |||
| North end of freeway | ||||
| 226.98 | 20th Avenue | |||
| North end of Seward Highway Seward Highway The Seward Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends 127 miles from Seward to Anchorage. It was completed in 1951 and runs through the scenic Kenai Peninsula and Turnagain Arm, for which it was designated an All-American Road by the U.S... |
||||
| 228.00 | Ingra Street, 6th Avenue | AK-1 turns | ||
| 229.37 | Airport Heights Drive, Mountain View Drive | |||
| South end of Glenn Highway Glenn Highway -References:* Pasch, A. D., K. C. May. 2001. Taphonomy and paleoenvironment of hadrosaur from the Matanuska Formation in South-Central Alaska. In: Mesozioc Vertebrate Life. Ed.s Tanke, D. H., Carpenter, K., Skrepnick, M. W. Indiana University Press. Pages 219-236.-External links:**... |
||||
| South end of freeway | ||||
| 230.04 | Bragaw Street | |||
| 231.08 | Boniface Parkway, Mountain View Drive - Elmendorf AFB | |||
| 231.84 | Turpin Road | Northbound exit and entrance | ||
| 232.66 | Muldoon Road | |||
| 234.22 | Arctic Valley Road | Northbound exit only | ||
| 235.71 | Fort Richardson, Arctic Valley | |||
| 239.70 | Eagle River Loop, Hiland Road | |||
| 241.45 | Eagle River Eagle River, Alaska Eagle River is a community within the Municipality of Anchorage situated on the Eagle River for which it is named, between Fort Richardson and Chugach State Park in the Chugach Mountains. Its ZIP code is 99577... |
|||
| 243.30 | North Eagle River | |||
| 245.31 | South Birchwood | |||
| 248.73 | North Birchwood | |||
| 249.73 | Peters Creek | |||
| 250.75 | Business Loop - North Peters Creek | |||
| 252.03 | Mirror Lake | |||
| 253.17 | Thunderbird Falls | Northbound exit and entrance | ||
| 254.05 | Eklutna Eklutna, Alaska Eklutna is a native village within the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. The Tribal Council estimates the population at 70; many tribal members live in the surrounding communities.... |
|||
| 257.57 | Old Glenn Highway | |||
| Matanuska-Susitna Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska -National protected areas:* Chugach National Forest * Denali National Park and Preserve ** Denali Wilderness * Lake Clark National Park and Preserve ** Lake Clark Wilderness -Demographics:... |
259.06 | Knik River Knik River, Alaska Knik River is a census-designated place in Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area... Access |
||
| 263.32 | ||||
| North end of freeway | ||||
| Unorganized | Glennallen | 409.54 | South end of AK-4 overlap | |
| 423.54 | North end of AK-4 overlap | |||
| Tok | 545.92 | |||