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PHOTOS: Alaska’s Dalton Highway

The 414-mile James W. Dalton Highway parallels the Trans-Alaska Pipeline between Livengood and Deadhorse, an operations facility on Prudhoe Bay for the North Slope oil fields. It is mostly unpaved. Anyone can try it, but it has been mostly the province of truckers hauling supplies north. Full story

The 414-mile James W. Dalton Highway parallels the Trans-Alaska Pipeline between Livengood and Deadhorse, an operations facility on Prudhoe Bay for the North Slope oil fields. It is mostly unpaved. Anyone can try it, but it has been mostly the province of truckers hauling supplies north. Full story  (Kim Murphy / Los Angeles Times)

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Known to truckers as the “haul road,” the 414-mile highway, mostly unpaved, crosses the Brooks Range as it winds north to Deadhorse on Prudhoe Bay. It follows the route of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and, since 1974, has been a lifeline to the North Slope oil fields.

Extreme trucker

John Taylor, a 64-year-old driver for Fairbanks-based Carlile Transportation, has driven 3 million miles on the Dalton Highway without an accident. That’s close to 3,000 times.

*An earlier version incorrectly said John Taylor’s last name was Thomas.  (Kim Murphy / Los Angeles Times)

Vanishing point

Dalton Highway crosses Alaska’s Brooks Range en route to Deadhorse on Prudhoe Bay in the Arctic. The high point -- and ofthen the most treacherous stretch -- is Atigun Pass, at nearly 4,800 feet.

  (Kim Murphy / Los Angeles Times)

Traffic on the Dalton Highway

Truckers and the “haul road’ make up a lifeline to the North Slope oil fields, carrying fuel, oil rig equipment, cars, groceries, machinery -- just about anything that’s needed. The 414-mile road, mostly unpaved, parallels the Trans-Alasaka Pipeline.  (Kim Murphy / Los Angeles Times)

Road less traveled

The empty white splendor of the Brooks Range emphasizes the isolation of the Dalton Highway, a largely unpaved “haul road’ that crosses the mountains en route to the North Slope oil fields and the outpost of Deadhorse on Prudhoe Bay.  (Kim Murphy / Los Angeles Times)

Thin line

Long sections of the Dalton Highway often are coverd with a thick layer of ice topped by dry snow. Blizzards can make the trip treacherous. Known as the “haul road,” it opened in 1974. All 414 miles were graded and covered with gravel in just 154 days  (Kim Murphy / Los Angeles Times)

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