| Steese Highway | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Length: | 161 mi (259 km) | |||
| Existed: | Late 1890s – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end: | Alaska Route 3 (Parks Highway) in Fairbanks | |||
| North end: | River Street in Circle | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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The Steese Highway is a highway in the Interior region of the U.S. state of Alaska that extends 161 miles (259 km) from Fairbanks to Circle, a town on the Yukon River about 50 miles (80 km) south of the Arctic Circle.[1] The highway was completed in 1927 and is named for U.S. Army General James G. Steese, a former president of the Alaska Road Commission.[2] It is paved for about the first 60 miles (97 km) and around the town of Central and gravel for the remainder, much of it narrow and winding.
The highway and surrounding region has a long association with gold mining. It was built to service the Circle Mining District, which was very productive in the 1890s, before the discovery of gold in the Klondike. Both historic sites, such as Felix Pedro's 1902 gold discovery which resulted in the founding of Fairbanks, and the preserved gold camp at Chatanika, and active dredging operations line the road.
The Steese Highway is numbered Alaska Route 6 for most of its length, except for the first 11 miles (17 km) from Fairbanks to Fox, which are numbered Alaska Route 2. The highway has been designated as a National Scenic Byway.