Copper River Highway

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title: "Copper River Highway" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cordova,-alaska", "state-highways-in-alaska"] description: "Highway in Alaska" topic_path: "general/cordova-alaska" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_River_Highway" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Highway in Alaska ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox road"]

Field	Value
marker_image	[[Image:Alaska 10 shield.svg
state	AK
name	Copper River Highway
maint	AkDOT&PF and the USFS
map	Copper River Highway map.svg
map_alt	Map of the Copper River Highway
length_mi	49.5
length_round	1
length_ref
direction_a	South
terminus_a	2nd Street in Cordova
direction_b	North
terminus_b	The Million Dollar Bridge over the Miles Glacier
::

::callout[type=note] Alaska Route 10 between Cordova and the Miles Glacier ::

|marker_image=[[Image:Alaska 10 shield.svg|70px]][[Image:Forest Route 32.svg|70px]] |state=AK |name=Copper River Highway |maint=AkDOT&PF and the USFS |map=Copper River Highway map.svg |map_alt=Map of the Copper River Highway |length_mi=49.5 |length_round=1 |length_ref= |established= |direction_a=South |terminus_a=2nd Street in Cordova |junction= |direction_b=North |terminus_b=The Million Dollar Bridge over the Miles Glacier The Copper River Highway extends 49.5 mi from Cordova along the old railbed of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. Construction began in 1945, and was originally intended to link Cordova with the state highway system at Chitina. The Million Dollar Bridge, which had carried trains until the CR&NW shut down, was converted for highway use. It is one of two discontinuous segments of Alaska Route 10.

The road extended only slightly beyond the bridge when the Good Friday earthquake of 1964 halted construction and severely damaged the Million Dollar Bridge, collapsing the north span. Temporary repairs were made, and the bridge continued to be used. Permanent repairs were not completed until 2005.

The first 12 mi of the highway is paved; the rest is gravel. A primitive four-wheel-drive road continues for 10 mi beyond the end of the highway to the Allen River.

The highway past mile 36 has been de facto abandoned since 2011 due to erosion of the approach to Bridge 339.

Route description

The Copper River Highway begins at the Alaska Marine Highway ferry terminal in Cordova. From there, the highway proceeds through central Cordova, intersecting several small roads and passing residential and commercial buildings. The road exits Cordova, and passes the large Eyak Lake, proceeding to the Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport. The highway then turns to a gravel road and proceeds east and then northeast through both Eyak Corporation land and the Chugach National Forest; however, after passing over several sloughs, the highway now stops after approximately 35 miles due to Bridge 339 having been washed out in 2011

Major junctions

|state=AK |location=Cordova |lspan=7 |mile=0.000 |road= Alaska Marine Highway Terminal - Cordova |notes=Western terminus}} |mile=0.449 |road=Railroad Avenue |notes=}} |mile=0.849 |road=Council Avenue |notes=}} |mile=1.095 |road=2nd Street |notes=}} |mile=1.376 |road=Point Whitshed Road |notes=}} |mile=1.793 |road=Le Fevre Street |notes=}} |mile=4.831 |road=5 Mile Cutoff |notes=}} |location=none |mile=5.307 |place=Eyak River}} |location=none |mile=13.696 |road=Sheridan Glacier Road |notes=}} |location=none |mile=22.284 |bridge=Alaganik Slough Bridge}} |location=none |mile=35 |bridge=Bridge 339 washed out in 2011}} |location=none |mile=49.458 |road=Million Dollar Bridge |notes=Eastern terminus}}

References

References

1. Staff. "The Copper River Highway". The Milepost.
2. "Copper River Highway".
3. "Overview Map of Copper River Highway".
4. Birkholz, Ethan. (2010). "Annual Traffic Volume Report". [[Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::