Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
George Parks Highway
The George Parks Highway, or Parks Highway, (Alaska Route 3) runs from a point northeast of Alaska's largest city, Anchorage, in south central Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks, in central Alaska. When it was completed in 1971, it was known as the Anchorage-Fairbanks Highway. It was renamed the George Parks Highway and designated Alaska Route 3 in 1975.
The George Parks Highway originates at the Glenn Highway (Alaska Route 1), 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Anchorage. The highway passes through Denali State Park, just east of Denali National Park, affording views of Mount McKinley. It reaches Fairbanks, passing the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus and ending at the intersection of the Richardson Highway and the Steese Highway.
The highway is 576 km (376 miles) long. Its route parallels that of the Alaska Railroad.
Many people believe that the highway is called the Parks Highway because it runs through the Denali State Park and next to the Denali National Park. This is not entirely true; the highway was named after George Parks, who served as the governor of the Territory of Alaska from 1925 to 1933. However, the appropriateness of the governor's surname was known to the naming committee for the hignway.
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