 Top of the World Highway | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yukon Highway 9 & Alaska Route 5 | ||||
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Department of Highways and Public Works | ||||
| Length | 127 km[1][2] (79 mi) | |||
| Existed | c. 1955–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  AK-5 (Taylor Highway) nearJack Wade, AK | |||
| East end |  ToHwy 2 at theWest Dawson ferry terminal | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Canada | |||
| Province | Yukon | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
TheTop of the World Highway is a 127 km-long (79 mi) highway, beginning at a junction with theTaylor Highway near the unincorporated community ofJack Wade, Alaska travelling east to its terminus at the ferry terminal inWest Dawson, Yukon, on the western banks of theYukon River. The highway has been in existence since at least 1955 and is only open during the summer months. The entire portion of the highway in Yukon is also known asYukon Highway 9. The Alaska portion is part of Alaska Route 5[3] and is a portion of the Taylor Highway Scenic Byway.[4]
As of August 2016, the U.S. portion of the highway is paved from the Taylor Highway junction almost as far asChicken, Alaska, and again for the final 10 kilometres from the Eagle turnoff to theCanada–United States border atLittle Gold Creek. Most of the Canadian portion is unpaved. The paved Canadian sections are from kilometre 0 (at Dawson) to km 9 (mile 0 to mi 5.4), km 74 to 76 (mi 46.0 to 47.2), km 79 to 82 (mi 49.1 to 51.0), km 83 to 94 (mi 51.6 to 58.4) and km 99 to 104 (mi 61.5 to 64.6) at the Canada–US border.
The highway is so named because, along much of its length, it skirts the crest of the hills, giving looks down on the valleys. It is also one of the most northerly highways in the world at those latitudes. Two nearby, farther north highways are theDempster Highway (Yukon Route 5) and theDalton Highway (Alaska Route 11). It is not particularly safe in winter, even forsnowmobile use, due to the lack of trees for shelter.
A ferry connects West Dawson to Dawson in summer,[2] and residents living in West Dawson and nearby Sunnydale cross on the ice during the winter. A bridge is planned by the Yukon government, although there is significant division among Dawson area residents as to whether such a bridge should be built. The west-bank residents received improved phone service only in 2004 but do not have a public electricity supply.
A 50 km (31 mi) branch road off the highway was used to reach the town ofClinton Creek, Yukon, a site of a formerasbestosmine that has been shut down since 1979.
ThePoker Creek–Little Gold Creek Border Crossing features one of the few jointly-built single building customs ports of entry along theCanada–US border. There is a one-hour difference in standardtime zones at this border, which is only open in summer during the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. period (Alaska time). The Border Post has warnings as far south asWhitehorse, Yukon, alerting travelers that the Border is closed between 9pm and 9am (Yukon Time) and there's absolutely no entry between those times. The immense AlaskanTaylor Complex Fire of 2004 burned up to the Canada–US border and was visible from the westernmost portions of the highway.
Media related toTop of the World Highway at Wikimedia Commons
