Page 54 - Skagway Virtual Guide

SOUTH KLONDIKE HIGHWAY
ROAD LOG
By VERN HIRSCH & JEFF BRADY
Editor’s note: You will be driving this highway with large trucks hauling various commodities, and large tour buses. Also watch for bicycle tours and sightseers. Drive safely and enjoy the ride. For the purposes of this road log we are counting Skagway as mile zero.
Mile 0: Skagway Ferry Terminal
Our starting point you can go straight through the shopping district via Broadway, or if it is busy take a left onto 1st Avenue and head right down State St.
Mile 1.6: WP&YR Maintenance Shops
The shops house all of WP&YR's equipment and maintenance yard.
Mile 4.9: Denver Glacier Pullout
Denver Glacier Valley on your right hand side. There are additional pullouts with scenic views along this section. You may even be lucky enough to see a train along the tracks across the valley.
Mile 6.8: U.S. Customs & Immigration Border Station
Open year-round 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Alaska Time).
Mile 7.7: Pitchfork Falls
The most photographed falls on the highway tumbles down the mountain from Goat Lake, under the railroad tracks, and down to the Skagway River gorge. Pipeline to right of falls draws water from the lake to a power plant below the highway, supplying hydroelectric power to Skagway and Haines.
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Mile 9.1: Scenic Pullout w/Interpretive Display
The White Pass Trail and White Pass City are in the valley below. White Pass City was a tent city that sprang up on the East fork of the river at the base of Tunnel and Mine Mountains and Dead Horse Gulch.
Mile 10.0: Bridal Veil Falls
Falls at turnout to left tumble down from the hanging glaciers on Mt. Cleveland.
Mile 11.1 William Henry Moore Bridge
Named for Skagway’s founder, the bridge spans a 110-foot wide gorge with Moore Creek 180 feet below. At the time it was built in 1977, this single- end support bridge was the only one of its kind
in North America. Work began on a replacement bridge in 2017 and was completed in 2020. The new large span deep corrugated structural plate Buried Bridge provides a hydraulic opening for the fast moving Captain William Moore Creek while filling in the rest of the gorge with roller compacted concrete. The 75 ft span x 15 ft rise Buried Bridge bears on foundations over 100 ft below the Klondike Highway and was designed to act as a stay in place form for placement of the concrete in the gorge. There is a large parking lot on the right just before the bridge.