Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Russia proposes highway from New York to London

This road/rail/ bridge chit has been around for years ,their are TV documentary's ,surveys, all kinds of info at the university and in our capital.... about this stuff (up here at least) ...funny how old news is news to the new media kids!

Much, MUCH later! I've traveled the AlCan seven times now, three times as a driver. The first two times in the 60's, the ONLY pavement was about a one mile stretch at Whitehorse, YT.

The last time I drove it, July '06, the only gravel sections were two road construction zones in BC, one for about five miles, the other about ten miles long.

At times, that old gravel road, treated with Calcium Chloride, was smoother and more pleasant to drive on than some of the pavement and a whole lot easier to maintain. Of course, the "shot rock" they used on most places was sharp as razors and would wear out tires at a crazy rate.

BTW, the AlCan (now called the Alaska Highway) was built primarily by the U.S. Army with assistance from the Canadian army in BC. It was built by two Engineer Battalions, one all white which started at Dawson Creek, BC, and an all-black Battalion which started from Tok, AK. Much like the trans-continental railway, they met in the middle.
You have to go up and see the terrain for yourself to appreciate what a monumental task those men (and women in support roles) did in just a few months.

Ed

i will need the extra large piss jug for that trip

I have traveled on Russian roads. Just like everything else in that schithole they suck.

mike r

I guess there are different concepts of "complete". I haven't driven it in a few years, though I've been over it a bunch.

In some parts they should stay with chip-seal and avoid pavement. Gravel is even easier to run a grader blade over.

My uncle was a combat engineer. He spent the 1st half of the war building that road. They shipped him to Europe just in time for the Battle of the Bulge.
It was built because of the Japs keeping house in the Aleutians. We needed some way to get equipment and men to AK in case they started making a push north.

Don't think that they haven't considered it. There are ice roads built and maintained every winter across Siberia, It's no big stretch for them to consider coming across.

Ed

Just the thing for an invasion force.

Dibs on two SUBWAY's on both sides of the Bering Strait bridge.

What, maybe 3 of them?

That's why the MiG is so tough. It was designed knowing the Russians produce inferior concrete.

The Idea been around for a long time, its a straight forward engineering job, it could be done all you need is three things the Will to do so a boat load of money and time, it would take a good thirty years to do, maybe longer! Not just a road for Cars and trucks but also for Rail, ( the Russians use a different gauge) and an oil and gas pipe line! Winter travel thru most of it would be how should I say interesting! And then besides the construction costs, the costs of keeping the whole thing in good repair! And all the other things you would need to make it work, fuel stations, places to eat, hotels and motels- repair garages, and finally for us English speakers- there is Russian one of the hardest languages in the world to learn, then there is institutional paranoia of the Russians, the Idea of freedom of movement is fairly new to them! It would be a job creator thou! As it is the traffic on the Alaska Highway even in Season if pretty light considering and long distances between fuel stops in some places, just think you are in your car, just fueled up and the next fuel stop is 200 miles away, its 65 deg below zero and other than you on the road not a soul around-makes for a boring dash cam video, never mind about keeping a car running and yourself warm enough! It would end up a seasonal road, like some of the roads in the Yukon, and in the end it would be to expensive to construct for that very reason! In other words not in our or children or grandchildren's life times!