Alaska Route 7

Last updated

Alaska 7 shield.svg

Alaska Route 7

Alaska Route 7
Route 7 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Alaska DOT&PF
Length144.62 mi [1]  (232.74 km)
144.62 mi (in four sections)
Component
highways
Tongass Highway segment
Length37.1 mi (59.7 km)
South endDead end near Ketchikan
Major intersectionsFerry Sign.svg Alaska Marine Highway in Ketchikan
North endDead end near Ward Cove
Mitkof Highway segment
Length34.21 mi (55.06 km)
South endDead end on Mitkof Island
Major intersectionsFerry Sign.svg Alaska Marine Highway in Petersburg
North endSandy Beach Road in Petersburg
Egan Drive / Glacier Highway segment
Length39.01 mi (62.78 km)
South end Franklin Street in Juneau
Major intersections
North endDead end in Juneau
Haines Highway segment
Length39.7 mi (63.9 km)
South endFront Street in Haines
North endYukon Highway 3.svg Hwy 3 on the AlaskaBritish Columbia border
Location
Country United States
State Alaska
Boroughs Ketchikan Gateway, Unorganized, Juneau, Haines
Highway system
Alaska 6 shield.svg AK-6 Alaska 8 shield.svg AK-8

Alaska Route 7 (abbreviated as AK-7) is a state highway in the Alaska Panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It consists of four unconnected pieces which serve some of the Panhandle communities. The Alaska Marine Highway ferries stop in the cities connecting to the Alaska Highway in Yukon via the Haines Highway.

Contents

Route description

According to Alaska's supplement to the Federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, AK-7 follows (from south to north): [2]

No other segments are shown on maps. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

The Alaska Marine Highway ferry service connect the sections, but for the most parts the ports are not located at the endpoint of each segment; thus many of the endpoints are dead ends.

Tongass Highway

The southernmost piece of AK-7 is known as the Tongass Highway and heads both ways from Ketchikan on Revillagigedo Island. The ferry calls at Ketchikan. Within the city of Ketchikan, it is named Tongass Avenue from the northern city limits at the airport ferry terminal to the Newtown neighborhood. Continuing downtown it is successively Water, Front, Mill and Stedman streets, becoming the Tongass Highway again after passing Coast Guard Base Ketchikan.

Mitkoff Highway / Nordic Drive

Another section of AK-7 is the Mitkoff Highway. Traveling south from Petersburg to the southeast point of Mitkof Island. AK-7 also includes the short Nordic Drive, connecting the Mitkoff Highway to the north point of the island. Petersburg has a ferry terminal.

Egan Drive / Glacier Highway

Egan Drive which is part of AK-7, is the main road in Juneau, replacing the Glacier Highway from downtown Juneau to near the Juneau International Airport. Beyond the airport, AK-7 continues along the Glacier Highway past Auke Bay to its northernmost point near Berners Bay. The extreme southern end of Egan Drive is known as Marine Way. The ferry calls at Auke Bay.

There were plans to extend the road north of Berners Bay as the Lynn Canal Highway; however, the project has been indefinitely shelved due to the state's budget crisis. [8]

Haines Highway

The final piece of AK-7 begins in downtown Haines, another ferry stop; it follows the Haines Highway northwest to the border with British Columbia, Canada. In BC, it continues north as the Haines Highway with no designation, eventually connecting with Yukon Highway 3 (which ends at the Alaska Highway at Haines Junction in the Yukon Territory).

Major intersections

Aerial view of Gastineau Channel and Egan Drive facing south, showing most of the part of the highway which is between downtown Juneau and Lemon Creek Gastineau Channel aerial.jpg
Aerial view of Gastineau Channel and Egan Drive facing south, showing most of the part of the highway which is between downtown Juneau and Lemon Creek
North Tongass Highway, roughly looking east as it passes through a neighborhood just beyond downtown Ketchikan Ketchikan Alaska (1).jpg
North Tongass Highway, roughly looking east as it passes through a neighborhood just beyond downtown Ketchikan
BoroughLocationmi [1] kmDestinationsNotes
Ketchikan Gateway 0.000.00Dead endBeaver Falls access; southern terminus of AK-7/Tongass Highway
Ketchikan 15.524.9Ferry Sign.svg Ferry Terminal Road  Ketchikan Ferry Terminal Alaska Marine Highway
Ward Cove 31.751.0Dead endNorthern terminus of Tongass Highway
Gap in route
Unorganized Mitkof Island 0.000.00Dead endSouthern terminus of Mitkof Highway
Petersburg 32.2151.84Ferry Sign.svg Ferry Terminal Road  Petersburg Ferry Terminal Alaska Marine Highway
34.2155.06Sandy Beach Road eastNordic Drive turns east and becomes Sandy Beach Road; northern terminus of Mitkof Highway
Gap in route
City and Borough of Juneau 0.000.00Franklin Street  Downtown, Thane Southern terminus of Egan Drive
0.681.09 Juneau-Douglas Bridge   Douglas
Glacier Highway Access RoadInterchange
Glacier Highway southAK-7 north overlaps Glacier Highway
13.1521.16Ferry Sign.svg Ferry Terminal Road  Auke Bay Ferry Terminal Alaska Marine Highway
39.0162.78Dead endBeyond Echo Cove access; northern terminus of Glacier Highway
Gap in route
Haines Haines 0.000.00Ferry Sign.svg Front Street to Haines Ferry Terminal To Alaska Marine Highway; southern terminus of Haines Highway
Canada–United States border 39.763.9 Dalton Cache - Pleasant Camp Border Crossing
Haines Highway northContinuation into British Columbia
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southeast Alaska</span> Region of Alaska

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juneau, Alaska</span> Capital city of Alaska, United States

The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau, is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alaska, located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of what was then the District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900. On July 1, 1970, the City of Juneau merged with the City of Douglas and the surrounding Greater Juneau Borough to form the current consolidated city-borough, which ranks as the second-largest municipality in the United States by area and is larger than both Rhode Island and Delaware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketchikan, Alaska</span> City in Alaska, United States

Ketchikan is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petersburg, Alaska</span> City in Alaska

Petersburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in and essentially the borough seat of Petersburg Borough, Alaska, United States. The population was 3,043 at the 2020 census, up from 2,948 in 2010.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mendenhall Valley, Juneau</span> Alaskan state capitol region geographical feature

The Mendenhall Valley is the drainage area of the Mendenhall River in the U.S. state of Alaska. The valley contains a series of neighborhoods, comprising the largest populated place within the corporate limits of the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska's capital.

The University of Alaska Southeast is a public university with its main campus in Juneau, Alaska and extended campuses in Sitka and Ketchikan. It is part of the University of Alaska System and was established on July 1, 1987, with the restructuring and consolidation of the former University of Alaska Juneau, Ketchikan Community College, and Islands Community College (Sitka). The university is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaska Marine Highway</span> Ferry system serving the U.S. state of Alaska

The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haines Highway</span> Highway in Alaska and Yukon Territory

The Haines Highway or Haines Cut-Off is a highway that connects Haines, Alaska, in the United States, with Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada, passing through the province of British Columbia. It follows the route of the old Dalton Trail from the port of Haines inland for about 180 km (110 mi) to Klukshu, Yukon, and then continues to Haines Junction. The highway is about 244 km (152 mi) long, of which 72 km (45 mi) is in Alaska.

MV <i>Fairweather</i>

MV Fairweather is a catamaran ferry built by Derecktor Shipyards in Bridgeport, Connecticut for the Alaska Marine Highway System entering service 2004. After being laid up since 2019, in March 2021 it was sold to Servicios y Concesiones Maritimas Ibicencas for service between Mallorca and Menorca.

MV <i>Malaspina</i>

MV Malaspina, colloquially known as the Mal, is a mainline ROPAX ferry and the original Malaspina-class vessel for the Alaska Marine Highway System. Malaspina is named after the Malaspina Glacier, which, in turn, is named after Captain Don Alessandro Malaspina, an Italian navigator and explorer who explored the northwest coast of North America in 1791. Malaspina is nearly identical to her sister ship, MV Matanuska.

MV <i>Matanuska</i>

MV Matanuska, colloquially known as the Mat, is a mainline Malaspina-class ferry vessel operated by the Alaska Marine Highway System.

MV <i>Columbia</i>

The M/V Columbia is a mainline ferry vessel for the Alaska Marine Highway System.

MV <i>Lituya</i>

MV Lituya is a shuttle ferry operated by the Alaska Marine Highway System. Her route connects Metlakatla on Annette Island to Ketchikan.

MV <i>Stikine</i>

M/V Stikine is a ferry operated by the Inter-Island Ferry Authority. Her regular route is between Ketchikan and Hollis, in Southeast Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Canal Highway</span>

The Lynn Canal Highway, or Juneau Access Road, is a proposed road between Skagway and City and Borough of Juneau, the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska. Such a road, if built, would still require ferry access to connect Juneau to the Alaskan highway network. The new road would be 47.9 miles long, built at an estimated cost of $574 million, and be a part of Alaska Route 7. The plan of the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) called for extending "The Road" northward from Juneau to a ferry terminal 18 miles south of Skagway. The corridor crosses Berners Bay LUD II which is a congressionally designated roadless area created by the Tongass Timber Reform Act (TTRA). The act permits crossing LUD IIs when the governor of the State of Alaska designates routes as essential transportation corridors. The proposed road skirts the shore of a northwestern section of Alaska's Inside Passage, which was recently named a National Scenic Waterway. As of 2017, the project has been indefinitely shelved due to the state's budget crisis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auke Bay, Juneau</span> Neighborhood in City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, United States

Auke Bay is a neighborhood located in the city and borough of Juneau, Alaska, that contains Auke Bay Harbor, Auke Lake, the University of Alaska Southeast, an elementary school, a church, a post office, a bar, a coffee shop, a waffle house, a thrift shop, a Thai restaurant, and one convenience store.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital Transit System</span> Public transportation agency in Juneau, Alaska

The Capital Transit System is the public transportation agency that serves the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska. Owned by the municipality, it operates eight bus routes - three of which are labeled as the "Core Service" and run seven days a week with the remaining five running as limited weekday connector. express, or commuter services. Although CTS previously operated routes that offered complete flag stop service along their entire route, routing changes that took place in November 2022 coinciding with the opening of the Mendenhall Valley Transit Center eliminated those routes. In areas where there are no signed bus stops, patrons can still flag down the bus in any location where it is safe for the bus to pull over.

MV <i>Tazlina</i>

MV Tazlina is a ferry operated by the Alaska Marine Highway System. It began serving Southeast Alaska Communities in 2019.

References

Template:Attached KML/Alaska Route 7
KML is from Wikidata
  1. 1 2 Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Southern Region General Log [ permanent dead link ], April 25, 2006 (Routes 291400 (South Tongass Highway), 291500 (North Tongass Highway), 294000 (Mitkof Highway), 294020 (Nordic Drive), 296000 (Glacier Highway/Egan Drive), and 298000 (Haines Highway))
  2. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Alaska Traffic Manual Supplement Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine , January 17, 2003
  3. Google Maps street maps, accessed August 2007
  4. American Automobile Association Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico, 1995
  5. Gousha Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico, 1996
  6. Rand McNally Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico, 1998
  7. MapQuest.com, Inc., National Geographic Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico, 2001
  8. Juneau Access cut from state budget. James Brooks. Juneau Empire , 16 December 2016