Local officials in Alaska and British Columbia promoted Route A, a scenic highway that would skirt the Pacific Coast and pass through existing cities. Military planners chose instead to build inland, both to avoid possible coastal attacks and to connect existing airstrips.

Today, roughly 360,000 tourists drive the Alaska Highway annually. However, since the road's construction, many have debated whether the highway fulfilled its promise. Despite becoming a tourist attraction, the area around the highway in Alaska remains relatively unpopulated. In part as a result of the placement of the highway, economic and population development has not been as significant as area residents had hoped.

Do you think the highway should have been built along the scenic, coastal Route A?