ROADS ACROSS ALASKA.

• Author: PARDES, JOAN

Our smaller siblings from down south like to boast about their attributes. Montana has its big sky and a drive through Texas seems like it will last forever-but compared to Alaska they simply don't weigh in. From the isolated villages that line the Inside Passage to Prudhoe Bay, the sheer size and breadth of the 49th state dwarves the rest of the country. With more than 591,000 square miles containing some of the highest mountain ranges on the continent, more protected land than most of the Lower 48 and 6,600 miles of coastline, Alaska is truly the last great place to live and to work in the beginning of the 21st century.

Of course life on the largest peninsula in the Western Hemisphere presents its own unique challenges. Although we live in the Last Fronfier, we seem to enjoy many of the same creature comforts of our southern neighbors. But, unlike the rest of the country, Alaska doesn't have a paved interstate highway or many roads that connect the dots of where people live and work in this vast wilderness. Our highways are the sky, the sea, the rail and the road, leaving transportation a constant and steady player in the Alaska economy.

"When you see the economy in an organic sense, transportation is such a critical part of any infrastructure of any economy, but even more so here in Alaska," said Neil Fried, a labor economist with the State of Alaska, Department of Labor and Workforce and Development. "Without it, most other sectors are not going to work. It's as basic as water for plants."

Transportation may be a basic necessity for life in Alaska, but the industry itself is unusually diverse. It includes air transportation, trucking, warehousing, school and tour buses. It also boasts a large water transportation segment and the only state-owned railroad in the country. The Alaska Railroad, recently infused with $150 million from the federal government, is in the process of investing a record amount of money into Alaska's infrastructure, according to Fried.

"Most of the federal money is focused toward the passenger segment of the railroad," said Alaska Railroad's Public Relations Director, Scott Banks. Along with increasing service and straightening the tracks so the trains can run faster, the railroad recently bought nine Vista dome cars from a private company in Florida for $4 million. "They are absolutely gorgeous trains," said Banks.

The purchase includes multi-level and single touring cars, l950s-style dining cars, a conference car...