Steese Highway
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| Alaska Route 6 Alaska Route 2 |
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| Route information | ||||
| Length: | 161 mi (259 km) | |||
| Existed: | Late 1890s – present | |||
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| South end: |
 AK-2 south (Richardson Highway) / Airport Way in Fairbanks
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Chena Hot Springs Road near FairbanksAK-2 north (Elliot Highway) near Fairbanks Circle Hot Springs Road in Central |
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| North end: | River Street in Circle | |||
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The Steese Highway (known as the Steese Expressway within Fairbanks) 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. 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. It is paved for about the first 81 miles (130 km) and around the town of Central it turns to dirt and gravel. Much of it is 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.
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