Haines Highway construction, 1943

From 1897 to 1899 hoards of optimistic gold seekers used the then well-beaten trail on their trek north. Locally, in the summer of 1898, placer gold was discovered on Porcupine Creek, Alaska. By 1899, a wagon road extended from Pyramid Harbor via Porcupine, along the south side of the Klehini to Pleasant Camp.  By 1914, a good wagon road reached from Haines along the south side of the Klehini to the international boundary at Pleasant Camp then along the northern side of the river to Rainy Hollow. A series of mining discoveries and related activities kept the lower Dalton Trail active through the years following its establishment. A wagon road from Pleasant Camp to Rainy Hollow was built by the B.C. provincial government in 1908/1909 at which time copper properties near Copper Butte were being developed. Copper was also discovered in the Three Guardsmen (Mt. Glave) region in 1909.

The threat of war on this continent was a reality in 1942. Upon completion of the pioneer version of the Alaska Highway, the U.S. Government decided that an alternate access to the highway should be provided in case the White Pass Railway was blocked. This would provide another supply route and a possibly important evacuation exit to the coast if needed. As a result, the Haines road was built in 1943 by the U.S. Army at a cost of $13 million. The general route of the Dalton Trail was followed as far as Klukshu Lake. From there the highway took the western shore of Dezadeash Lake.

Construction took place from January to December of 1943. One major construction camp was set up at the Takhane River, Mile 103, present site of Million Dollar Falls Campground. Another was located at the south end of Dezadeash Lake, Mile 125, later to be known first as Beloud Post and later as Dezadeash Lodge. Upon completion of the highway, salvaged building materials from these camps became prime sources of local building materials for both private homes and highway lodges.

In the post-war era the Haines Road served well as an extension of the Alaska Marine Highway System to northern Alaska. It first opened on a year-round basis in 1963. Considering the severity of winter storms, maintenance of the highway was and still is a challenge by any man's measure. With extremely high wind chill factors coupled with drifting snow and poor visibility, the winding route can be unforgiving. Its maintenance is shared by AK Department of Transportation and Canadian Territorial camps at Mule Creek (75 mi.) Blanchard River (94 mi.) and Haines Junction. During the sixties and early seventies a radio check system operated which carefully monitored each passing vehicle. Until the early sixties the passage was seasonal at best. The route was often blocked by a mudslide near the border. This problem persisted for some forty years until the slide area was by-passed by new construction in 1983. The following excerpt from a 1948 B.C. Dept. of Mines Bulletin provides as interesting insight into transportation conditions in early years.

Haines Highway construction, 1943

"In the first part of the 1946 season the road was not passable with safety because of serious flood damage at Stanley Creek, minor damage at several other creeks and because of a large slide near Pleasant Camp. A road crew of the Canadian Army had the road in repair by the middle of the summer and continued improving it until the end of autumn. Late in the summer, busses started running on a weekly schedule between Whitehorse and Haines and an officer of the Canadian Customs was stationed at Pleasant Camp. During the summer of 1945 and 1946 the freight rates on camping equipment were as follows: Vancouver to Whitehorse, $99 per ton. The freight rates on machinery were: Vancouver to Skagway, $15 per ton; Vancouver to Whitehorse, $71 per ton. Trucks carrying freight from Whitehorse along the Alaska Highway charge 10 cents per ton-mile. Packhorses may be hired from S. Chambers at Champagne, 60 miles west of Whitehorse. The horses may be transported by truck into the area or may travel on foot over a more direct route by way of Dezadeash River, Dezadeash Lake, and Klukshu. Provisions and general supplies are obtainable at Whitehorse, Champagne, and Haines."

In 1954 the Haines Road once again became the object of an American military-related project when its route was paralleled by a Haines to Fairbanks pipeline. The line included associated pump stations at Mile 48 and Mile 94. A Vancouver joint venture organization built the 8" line in 1954-1956 under contract with the U.S. Corp. of Engineers and under the direction and supervision of Fluor Corp., a Los Angeles based consulting firm. The line transported many fuels north including aviation, automobile, diesel and jet, until operations ceased in 1970.

Commensurate with an American desire to have an all-paved highway to Alaska, the road is now in the midst of a major reconstruction funded by the United States. The "Shakwak" Program, named after the valley in which it lies, is intended to update the entire route from Pleasant Camp at the Alaska B.C. border to Beaver Creek at the Yukon-Alaska border. Reconstruction of the road, designed by Public Works Canada to U.S. specifications, began in 1979. Segments of the project have been completed from the border at Pleasant Camp to Mile 74 and from Mile 129 to Haines Junction. Work is continuing. A testimony to the quality of Public Works Engineering and quality control, the new sections, often in difficult mountain terrain, are second to none in excellence.