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In 2015, the Government of Yukon, Highways and Public Works developed a transportation functional plan for the Alaska Highway corridor through Whitehorse. This plan sought to identify existing traffic issues and develop potential solutions.
The study area included the Alaska Highway from the North Klondike Highway to the South Klondike Highway.
Report Summary – Functional Plan for Whitehorse Corridor Alaska Highway (Final, February 2015)
Whitehorse has grown by 24.3 percent over the past 9 years (Yukon Bureau of Statistics, 2013), leading to increased concerns with traffic congestion and traffic safety on the section of the Alaska Highway within the city limits. The pressures on this part of the highway are anticipated to continue to grow. Therefore, the Government of Yukon Department of Highways and Public Works is considering options to upgrade the Whitehorse Corridor of the Alaska Highway from Gentian Lane to the northern municipal boundary, a distance of 39.7 kilometres (km). In 2011, the Government of Yukon (YG) commissioned studies to assess road safety, environmental issues, and highway capacity within the corridor. Using these studies and recommendations as a basis, YG then prepared a conceptual plan that identifies and compares high‐level development options that could be considered for the corridor. It is intended that this study, Functional Plan for Whitehorse Corridor Alaska Highway, will expand on the initial work undertaken by YG to deliver a plan that will be used to guide immediate‐ and long‐term corridor improvements. The overall scope of work of this functional planning study is to identify cost‐effective solutions to transportation corridor management in the immediate‐, medium‐, and long‐term, based on sound technical analysis and limited stakeholder engagement. For this project, the population planning horizons for the immediate‐, medium‐, and long‐term were defined in 2011 by YG as 26,000, 35,000 and 46,800, respectively. The objective of this Functional Plan is to develop a recommended long‐term solution for development of the section of the Alaska Highway through Whitehorse, and staged implementation for the two shorter‐term planning horizons. Ultimately, the options are to cost‐effectively address safety and congestion issues experienced today and projected to increase over time as population expands in and around Whitehorse.
