Page:America's Highways 1776–1976.djvu/540

 mit, on the south end of Kluane Lake, celebrated the event on November 20, 1942.

A ribbon separates Royal Canadian Mounted Police and U.S. Army troops at the dedication of the Alaska Highway in 1942.

After the breakthrough at Beaver Creek, much remained to be done to make the truck trail a usable road. The westerly portion presented a dreary prospect, and work continued on into the winter under extreme weather conditions. Record low temperatures were encountered, reaching 72 degrees below zero on the northern sector. Diesel fuel failed to flow from the equipment fuel tanks to the engines, and steel parts broke with increasing frequency. Throughout the project, temporary bridges were “freezing in” and going out when forming ice pulled them apart. However, work continued at a fairly high level during the winter on major structures over the Peace, Sikanni Chief, Muskwa, and Liard Rivers, on rock cuts where possible, and on preparation for the 1943 construction season by repairing equipment and building shops and camps.

Engineering design work in preparation for the following year’s construction was carried on throughout the winter, the design for the permanent highway being essentially completed by the beginning of the 1943 season. On April 7, 1943, however, the policies on standards and alinement were radically altered by an Army directive. This directive ordered a substantial lowering of design standards and required that construction of the all-weather route follow the pioneer truck trail to the maximum extent that could provide a usable road.

Layers of trees were laid over the permafrost as the first step in stabilizing the pioneer road. 534