Arctic Ocean Highway (Finnish: Jäämerentie, Swedish: Ishavsvägen, German: Eismeerstraße) was a 531-kilometre-long highway in Lapland, Finland, connecting the town of Rovaniemi to the port of Liinakhamari on the Pechenga Bay of the Barents Sea. It was opened in 1931 and is recognized as the first highway in the world to reach the Arctic Ocean.
History
The highway was largely built along the route of the 16th-century Finnmark Path, which connected Finnish Lapland to the Finnmark county of Norway. By the early 1900s, the northernmost point of Finnish roads was at the village of Tankavaara, 225 kilometres north of Rovaniemi. The road to Ivalo was completed in 1913, and construction of a new road to Petsamo began in 1916 by order of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia. Following Finland's independence in 1917, the old narrow routes were widened to 5 metres, and the new Petsamo Highway was opened in its full length in 1931, subsequently renamed the Arctic Ocean Highway.
During the 1930s, traffic grew rapidly as the Petsamo nickel mines opened. Liinakhamari became one of Finland's major ports, notable as the country's only year-round ice-free harbour.
World War II
The Arctic Ocean Highway and the port of Liinakhamari became strategically vital during World War II in 1940–1941, serving as the only export route for Finland and Sweden not controlled by Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. Between autumn 1940 and summer 1941, more than 4,000 men with 1,600 trucks transported cargo on the highway, supported by 1,000 mechanics and 1,400 road maintenance workers. Swedish operations contributed an additional 400 trucks. During this period, nearly 100 truckers died in accidents. In total, 340,000 tons of export and 180,000 tons of import cargo were transported, carried by more than 200 ships.
In August 1940, nearly 900 Americans living in Northern Europe departed via Liinakhamari aboard the passenger ship American Legion. In June 1941, the Germans transported 40,000 troops to Lapland via the highway to join Operation Barbarossa. During autumn 1944, the highway was used by retreating German forces.
Post-war
After the war, Finland ceded the Petsamo area to the Soviet Union, losing its access to the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic Ocean Highway was rerouted; instead of heading north to Petsamo, it turned northwest toward Utsjoki and the Norwegian border, following the western shore of Lake Inari. Today, this route forms part of Finnish national road 4, which leads to Norway.
