Taylor Highway
{{Short description|State highway in Alaska, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox road
|state=AK
|type=AK
|route=5
|name=Taylor Highway
|map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-lat=64.0498|frame-long=-141.8992|zoom=6|type=line|from=Taylor Highway.map|stroke-width=3}}
|map_custom=yes
|map_notes=Taylor Highway highlighted in red
|length_mi=160
|length_ref=
|established=1953
|decommissioned=
|direction_a=South
|terminus_a={{jct|state=AK|AK|2|name1=Alaska Highway}} at Tetlin Junction
|junction=Top of the World Highway at Jack Wade Junction
|direction_b=North
|terminus_b=Front Street in Eagle
|boroughs=Unorganized
|previous_type=AK
|previous_route=4
|next_type=AK
|next_route=6
}}
File:Fall colors along Taylor Highway, Alaska.jpg
The Taylor Highway (numbered Alaska Route 5) is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends 160 miles (258 km) from Tetlin Junction, about 11 miles (17 km) east of Tok on the Alaska Highway, to Eagle. The southern 96 miles from the Alaska Highway to Jack Wade Junction is designated as Alaska Route 5. The entire highway formerly carried this designation, but the north end of Route 5 has been rerouted to follow the Top of the World Highway to the Canadian border.
Route description
The first {{convert|60|mi}} of the highway is paved; the rest is gravel. The highway is closed to automobile traffic from October through April, but is used by snowmobiles in the winter. The large Fortymile caribou herd roams near the highway. The highway also provides access to the Fortymile River National Wild and Scenic River system.
History
Wagon trails had supplied Eagle, Chicken, and the historic Fortymile Mining District since the nineteenth century. The Fortymile Road was established in 1951 and later renamed in honor of ARC President (1932–1948) Ike P. Taylor. It connects to the Top of the World Highway {{convert|96|mi}} from Tetlin, at Jack Wade Junction, allowing road access to Dawson City, Yukon during parts of the year. It is {{convert|79|mi}} from Jack Wade Junction to Dawson City.
Major intersections
{{jcttop|state=AK|length_ref=|borough=Unorganized}}
{{AKint
|location=Tetlin Junction
|mile=0
|road={{jct|state=AK|AK|2|name1=Alaska Highway|city1=Tok|location2=Canada}}
|notes=Southern terminus of Alaska Route 5 & Taylor Highway}}
{{AKint
|location=Chicken
|mile=66
|road=Airport Road
|notes=To Chicken Airport}}
{{AKint
|location=Jack Wade Junction
|mile=96
|road={{jct|state=AK|AK|5|name1=Top of the World Highway North|city1=Dawson City}}
|notes=Western terminus of Top of the World Highway}}
{{AKint
|location=Eagle
|mile=160
|road=Front Street
|notes=}}
{{Jctbtm}}
References
- [https://www.alaska.org/guide/taylor-highway Taylor Highway]
- [https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/4594-taylor-highway.html Taylor Highway is an iconic drive in Alaska]
- [https://evogov.s3.amazonaws.com/182/media/190170.pdf] Alaska DOT&PF document showing Route 5 reroute onto Top of World Highway, see table 2D-100.
See also
{{Attached KML|display=title,inline}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:State highways in Alaska