When the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands during World War II, it emphasized the necessity of a road to the north. The 2450 km / 1522 mile long Alaska Highway was built in 1942 following a line of air bases through Canada into Alaska.

In the course of the war, some 8000 planes were ferried to Fairbanks along this route, where they were picked up by Russian pilots and flown into action on the Siberian front. This was just one of the ways to get supplies to the besieged country.

In its early days, the highway was rather hard on vehicles, and it became known as the "junkyard of the American automobile". Today it is an all-weather highway travelled by buses and thousands of tourists.