The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, running 368 miles (562 km) and connecting Valdez to Fairbanks. It is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 2 from there to Fairbanks. It also connects segments of Alaska Route 1 between the Glenn Highway and the Tok Cut-Off. The Richardson Highway was the first major road built in Alaska.
The "first car" to travel from Valdez to Eagle, 1913
Interchange with the Fairbanks end of Badger Road, a loop road serving suburban parts of the North Pole area. The interchange was constructed in the early 2000s, after an approximately three-decade history of serious accidents at the previous at-grade intersection.
The highway in Keystone Canyon, just north of Valdez
Horsetail falls, one of many waterfalls visible as the highway traverses Keystone Canyon
Valdez is a city in the Chugach Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to the 2020 US Census, the population of the city is 3,985, up from 3,976 in 2010. It is the third most populated city in Alaska's Unorganized Borough.
Aerial view showing the townsite, the harbor, Port Valdez, the lower Mineral Creek valley, and Blueberry Hill
McKinley Avenue in Valdez, June 1908
Valdez in the 1940s
The Valdez townsite was abandoned and relocated following the 1964 earthquake and was used as a pipe yard for the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, as shown in this 1974 photo.
