Chapter 4: An Explosion of Development — World War II shapes Alaska Poor timing, lack of planning and harsh weather beset all military operations in Alaska and Northern Canada for the next few years. It appeared as if the Armed Forces did not recognize winter as being different from summer in Alaska, and did not make much or any concessions to it. The rail crewmen that camped on site were primarily tunnelers, but since they were the only ones present, they took on other tasks as the need arose. The campsite was not much to see or to live in, a group of tents and a couple of shacks on the shoreline flat where the airstrip is today. With harsh weather coming, the men needed more permanent shelter. The dock was only a temporary one, and not too practical. Unloading of construction material was described as difficult at best, impossible at worst. These tunnelers soon learned how to be longshoremen, carpenters, architects, electricians, and seamen, as they responded to any problems or incoming shipments or problems that arose.
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| Tired workmen huddle in the dark inside a tunnel opening. The portal is now awaiting a snowshed, a structure extending out from the mountain to keep any snow or avalanches that come down the mountainside from blocking off the tunnel. |  Photo courtesy Anchorage Museum of History and Art |
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"Ever heard of this place?" The following Army press release was sent out on September 4, 1941:
"EVER HEARD OF THIS PLACE? WELL, YOU WILL This short story ran in the Anchorage Daily Times next to a large item about "new all-purpose gas masks" being made available to Hawaiian residents amidst "Japanese Threats." The tension built fast as the danger of war approached. The U.S. remained officially neutral, but for only a few months more. The residents of the newly dubbed town of Whittier kept busy building the town from scratch well into the deep snows of November. The first major structure completed for the tunnel was a snowshed for its entrance. The snowshed, though small, proved to be a very important structure due to the geography of the area. Where the tunnel enters the side of Mt. Maynard the mountain face is broad, smooth and steep, coming to an abrupt halt at the valley floor, which is practically flat. This forms a very sharp angle, (around 70 degrees). Most snowfall on the slopes of Mt. Maynard slides down, slowly or catastrophically, piling deeply at the foot of the mountain. In order to maintain any access to the tunnel, the snowshed was imperative, and was finished in late November. Tunnelers had already started, and had reached a few yards into the mountain.
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