The Yukon government has secured a portion of U.S. money to fix sections of the rugged Alaska Highway in the Yukon.
The stretch of the highway due for upgrades is known as the Shakwak corridor. The road, sometimes referred to as the Alcan Highway, was originally built during the Second World War as a military supply route. It connects Alaska to the Yukon and the southern states and provinces.
The road starts in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. It winds through northern B.C. and the Yukon via Whitehorse and Beaver Creek before crossing into the United States, coming to an end at Delta Junction, Alaska.
Last year, the Yukon government announced more than $US 30 million to rehabilitate parts of the north Alaska Highway in partnership with the State of Alaska and U.S. federal highways, according to Krysten Johnson, who works in communications for the Yukon highways department. Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai and Nils Clarke, the territory's highways minister, stood together in shiny orange hard hats and vests to make the announcement at the Whitehorse Grader Station on April 23, 2024.
Then the 2024 U.S. elections saw Donald Trump elected president. That change in U.S. administration and its approach to trade created “uncertainty” around finalizing the funding deals, per Johnson. At the time, Pillai said he was keeping an eye on the situation.
“But earlier this spring, we received confirmation that the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) amendment was approved, a major milestone allowing Alaska to formally allocate U.S. federal funds to the project,” she said.
On June 6, the State of Alaska announced $US 7.2 million from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities for the Shakwak project in the Yukon.
“The Shakwak Project is a long-standing and essential partnership between Alaska, the United States and Canada,” Ryan Anderson, Alaska’s transportation commissioner, said in a press release.
“It reflects our shared commitment to keeping this international corridor open, well-maintained and strategically capable — not just for Alaskans, but for the broader region and both nations.”
The release highlights the highway’s significance as year-round road access for travellers, truckers and emergency services.
Alaska’s transportation department coordinated with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration to share construction advertisements with Alaska contractors, as noted in the release.
The $US 7.2 million was transferred on May 1 to support fixes between kilometres 1,762 and 1,790 of the Alaska Highway, according to the release.
“Work will include repairing road embankments, restoring surfaces and slopes, replacing failing culverts, reshaping ditches and stockpiling aggregates,” reads the release.
Johnson said that chunk of money represents the first phase of funding coming from the state to the territory for Alaska Highway repairs.
Since the Yukon government’s budget contains $8 million to repair the notably rough portion of highway, the Yukon Party had been demanding to know the plan, despite the questions that existed in March. The Official Opposition suggested the Yukon government put the projects to tender immediately, then recoup the money from the United States later.
Work on the road is expected to begin later in 2025, according to Johnson. She said two relevant tenders had been posted on the Yukon government’s bids-and-tenders website.
Nuway Crushing L.P. was the sole bidder on the tender that closed June 5.
The Yukon government continues to work to get the full funding transferred, Johnson said.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
