Johansen Expressway

The Johansen Expressway (formally, the Woodrow Johansen Expressway) is an approximately 4.5-mile-long (7.2 km) expressway in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Johansen Expressway serves as a northern bypass to the city, and is notable for being the only highway in Alaska to have exit numbers.

Johansen Expressway
Woodrow Johansen Expressway
Johansen Expressway highlighted in red
Route information
Length4.2 mi[1] (6.8 km)
Major junctions
West endUniversity Avenue / Geist Road in College
 Old Steese Highway in Fairbanks
East end AK-2 (Steese Expressway) in Fairbanks
Location
BoroughsFairbanks North Star
Highway system

History

Named the Geist Road Extension for most of its planning period, the highway was named in 1988 in honor of Hendryx Woodrow "Woody" Johansen (1913โ€“1991).[2] Johansen was a professor of civil engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and an employee of the Alaska Road Commission and the Alaska Department of Highways.[3] As northern district engineer for the Department of Highways, he envisioned and designed the system of expressways which was built in the Fairbanks area between the 1970s and 1990s.

Route description

The Johansen Expressway is a four- to six-lane expressway in Fairbanks. Most of the expressway is built with four lanes of traffic and the capability to upgrade to six lanes. The expressway begins as a continuation of Geist Road at an intersection with University Avenue near the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. From this point it continues east as a four-lane expressway, passing through an interchange with Peger Road, providing access to commercial districts along Airport Way to the south. Johansen Expressway continues east, passing through an intersection with Danby Street, a major connection to residential areas to the north, and through a major interchange with College Road, providing a connection with Downtown Fairbanks and other outlying commercial and residential districts. After passing through two intersections leading to commercial developments, the Johansen Expressway ends at the Steese Highway, an old gold-rush route that leads to the town of Circle to the north.[1]

Exit list

The entire route is in Fairbanks North Star Borough.

Locationmi[1]kmExit[4]DestinationsNotes
College0.00.0University Avenue / Geist Road westAt-grade intersection; Continuation west as Geist Road
Fairbanks0.60.972Peger Road
1.72.73AAurora Drive / Hanson RoadWestbound exit only
1.82.93BDanby Street / Depot Roadโ€” Alaska RailroadAt-grade intersection; Signed as exit 3B westbound
2.74.34College Road
3.65.8Hunter StreetAt-grade intersection
3.86.1Old Steese HighwayAt-grade intersection
4.26.8 AK-2 (Steese Expressway) / City Lights Boulevard east โ€“ Fox, North PoleEastern terminus of freeway; Continuation east as City Lights Boulevard
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

  •  Alaska portal
  •  U.S. Roads portal

References

KML is from Wikidata
  1. Google (April 19, 2012). "Overview Map of the Johansen Expressway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  2. Alaska Legislature. "AS 35.40.030. Woodrow Johansen Expressway". Alaska Statutes. Alaska Legal Resource Center. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  3. Johansen, Woodrow. "Public Officials:Woodrow (Woody) Johansen". The Dalton Highway: A Multi-Media History of Alaska's Arctic Road. University of Alaska Fairbanks Media Repository. Archived from the original on June 16, 2007. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  4. Fairbanks, Alaska (Map) (2009 ed.). 1 inch=0.53 miles. Cartography by Rand McNally. American Automobile Association (AAA). 2009. ยง F55-P54.
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