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8 MARCH 1942 - ALASKA HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION BEGINS
After the United States entry into #WWII Alaska was vulnerable to attack. The only means of supplying military forces there was by air or sea, both of which were vulnerable to Japanese interdiction.
After the United States entry into #WWII Alaska was vulnerable to attack. The only means of supplying military forces there was by air or sea, both of which were vulnerable to Japanese interdiction.
With the agreement of Canada, the U.S. government moved on plans to build an overland supply route from the Canadian railhead and road junction town of Dawson's Creek in British Columbia, across Yukon to Fairbanks, Alaska.
Work began on 8 March by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) along with civilian contractors and Canadian military personnel to create a "primitive road" before winter. The need to finish accelerated when Japanese forces invaded the Aleutian Islands in June 1942.
