Commuting in Interior Alaska (Anchorage, Fairbanks: find a job, buy, live)

[dlphngrl]

I am considering a personal change, which would require a relocation to the greater Fairbanks area. Are the winter conditions such that I would be unable to commute from North Pole, AK to Fairbanks, AK on a daily basis. Friends formerly located in Anchorage said that snow shuts everything down, including roadways, and commuting is treacherous at best in the area. My professional experience would allow more opportunities in Fairbanks, I believe from my Internet searches. I'd like to make an informed decision so any insight would be greatly appreciated! Oh and I'd be relocating from the (hot and humid) Southeast US, however, raised in the Mid-Atlantic where snow was common but not at high rates in the winter.

[icarian]

Relatively no issue in the Interior compared to what it is like in Anchorage. The Richardson Highway is as much a major thoroughfare as you'll find in the Fairbanks area. It can get slippery, but they don't shut it down and A LOT of people use it everyday between Fairbanks and North Pole / Eielson / Salcha.

[stiffnecked]

You have people that commute on a daily basis from Fairbanks all the way to the Air Force Base. You'll have zero problems commuting. With that said buy some studded tires for your car.

[Moose Whisperer]

Originally Posted by dlphngrl

Friends formerly located in Anchorage said that snow shuts everything down, including roadways, and commuting is treacherous at best in the area.

This is correct, however the reason this happens in the Anchorage area is that there is 10X the population in Anchorage, causing the "stupid driver factor" to increase exponentially yet a thousand times more. In most winter driving situations, it is often the other clueless drivers on the road that pose as much, if not more of a hazard than the actual road conditions.

Commuting between Fairbanks and North Pole in winter is no problem. But increase the traffic on those roads to the same density as found in Anchorage and it would likely become gridlocked.

[JavaPhil]

That stretch of road is excellent. I don't like the cutoff to Cushman (I think that's the cutoff - the one with the left turn across the highway?), but otherwise it's really good. And the McDonalds in North Pole has good breakfast sandwiches.

[mitgreb]

The road is called the Richardson Raceway and you should get the biggest pickup truck with the biggest tires and strait exhaust pipes with some moose lights and a light bar in your roll bar. Then when it snows you should run the snow drift in the left hand lane as fast as you can while keeping it in the road passing as many cars as you can on your way to work...... Nope never drove that road

[dlphngrl]

Thanks ya'll for the insight! Perhaps I'll be able to find a job up there and see you around town in the future

[starlite9]

My Daughter lives in North Pole and drives into Fairbanks daily for work in a "KIA" Rio (A very small "Rice Rocket".... Without much Rocket fuel I might add), so I doubt you will have any problems with your commuting in anything you will be driving here.

[Kyle2008]

Kwikpak was near Andreafsky and both were in commuting distance of St Michaels where many of my relatives lived. St M was a very big city in the 1900 census due to the military base and the gold rush. My ggrandmother's brother-in-law was from Norway and ran the trading post in Andreafsky. His name was Fredericks.
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[NatureCoastFL]

Here is a pic when I was driving from north pole back to fairbanks. The pic was taken in Feb 08. From my personal experience driving on the road, the closer you got to fairbanks, the more ice I noted on the road. But is was easier than driving around all the icy roads in fairbanks.