It is named after James Dalton, a lifelong Alaskan and an engineer who supervised construction of the Distant Early Warning Line in Alaska and, as an expert[according to whom?]

in Arctic engineering,[citation needed] served as a consultant in early oil exploration in northern Alaska.

[citation needed] In 1966, Governor Walter J. Hickel opened the North Slope to oil extraction.

To improve access to the oil fields, a 400-mile (640 km) winter road was planned between Livengood and Prudhoe Bay.

The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company funded what would be the first stretch of the Dalton Highway from Livengood to the Yukon River in 1969.

The road itself is mostly gravel, very primitive in places, and small vehicle and motorcycle travel carries significant risk.

Beyond the highway's terminus at Deadhorse are private roads owned by oil companies, which are restricted to authorized vehicles only.

[citation needed] Truckers on the Dalton have given their own names to its various features, including: Taps, The Shelf, Franklin Bluffs, Oil Spill Hill, Beaver Slide, Surprise Rise, Sand Hill, Ice Cut, Gobbler's Knob, Finger Mountain, Oh Shit Corner,[9] and the Roller Coaster.

[3] Polar bears are known to traverse the Arctic region of Alaska and can be seen wandering the outskirts of Deadhorse at the terminus of the Dalton Highway.