It took over 40 years to complete the vital link that’s Alaska’s Seward Highway

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Kenai Peninsula hasn’t always been connected to Alaska’s largest city by road. It’s hard to imagine since it’s a favorite recreation spot for many people from Anchorage and places further north, especially on summer weekends.

The Seward Highway is filled with people hauling boats, visiting their cabins, or sightseeing. Then there are all of the out-of-state guests — the tourists.

But it wasn’t until 1951 that the highway even existed.

The Alaska Railroad was completed in 1923, giving people the option of riding all the way from the port city of Seward to the Golden Heart city, Fairbanks.

But you couldn’t make the same trip by car. The road out of Seward only went 18 miles.

Eventually, you could drive from Anchorage to Girdwood on the Turnagain Arm.

It would take World War II to motivate spending money on connecting Seward to Anchorage by road. And it would take decades after that to improve the narrow road to the highway it is today.

Improvement work continues even today on the narrower sections around the Moose Pass area.

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