Highlights of History from The Whitehorse Star

A Guide to the Alaska Highway ("Alcan")

The Whitehorse Star, October 17, 1952

    The three-ring circus installed at the top of the Two-Mile Hill, will take priority over the Two-Mile Hill as number one death trap.

    This contraption to snarl traffic has all the earmarks of being designed by the Income Tax Department in conjunction with the Old Age Pension Board, who are past masters at turning out masterpieces of confusion.

    We dare the "engineers" of this contraption to wheel a semi-trailer truck or a large house trailer through the maze of obstacles without knocking over some of the poles.

    Many centre swing-back distributors are in use in Canada and the United States, but they are all four to six lanes wide, never have we seen a two-lane contraption like our prize.

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The Whitehorse Star, January 2, 1953

    In our issue of October 17 we dared to condemn the work of our Army engineers in the construction of the traffic circle at the top of Two-Mile Hill. We based our opinions on traffic circles encountered during our many travels through the United States and the fact that a highway engineer had informed us that the present traffic circle did not meet Canadian or American highway construction standards. We presumed the present structure was installed for no apparent reason other than to keep tourists out of the Army housing area.

    Although no definite records are available other than memory of residents, no accident of amy consequence is remembered to have happened at this intersection before the traffic circle was installed.

    Since the hazard was placed on the highway however, accidents, some minor, have reached the dozen mark. These accidents are past the joking stage. The traffic circle has proven to be a traffic hazard and some action must be taken before it becomes a memorium.

    The Army officials still have time to remove the obstacle before death takes over and an Ottawa investigation is launched. ... The cost, well, let's charge that to experience.