Scenic Pike Lake Road is in need of repair, but questions have been raised about whether the road should be paved or rebuilt and then re-graveled. Over the last few years traffic has increased on Pike Lake Road, which means it could be better kept up if it was paved, said Cook County Highway Engineer Dave Betts.
No one disputes that repairing Pike Lake Road has been long overdue. It sits number one on the recently compiled list of county roads that need upgrading by Cook County Highway Engineer Dave Betts and his staff. But questions about what type of repair Pike Lake Road will receive were raised at a recent Cook County commissioners’ meeting.
Leah Thomas has been a resident and property owner on Good Harbor Hill since 1994, and while she would like to see the lumpy bumpy Pike Lake Road improved, she doesn’t want to see it paved.
Thomas addressed commissioners with her concerns at the board’s February 21 meeting.
“Studies show that paving roads hastens development and destroys the quiet, rural aesthetic which drew many of us to the area in the first place,” said Thomas.
“For those, like me, whose property directly abuts Pike Lake Road the impact would be especially severe. Additionally, some studies indicate property values decrease as the rural character of an area is compromised.
“Residents and property owners were not adequately consulted before this decision was made,” Thomas said. “The first I heard of it was last week through local media. I would have hoped for an opportunity to discuss options and potential impacts before a half-million dollar commitment was made with LHB Engineering to design a 55 mile per hour paved thoroughfare which will pass right in front of my house.
“Pike Lake Road community meetings should have been held before the decision was made to pave the road. I encourage you to take a look at the Highway 61 re-design project in Grand Marais as an example of an open, transparent and inclusive process.”
As currently proposed a 55 mile per hour speed limit would be “inappropriate and dangerous,” noted Thomas. “Increased speed is a danger to pedestrians, bicyclists, wildlife, and other motorists, all of whom are present on Pike Lake Road, moving at different rates and in different directions. Also, there are intersections and numerous driveways along the road. At higher speeds, you must react more quickly, and there are fewer margins for error, making collisions more likely. Even more important is the fact that increased speed makes crashes that do occur far more deadly. A quiet, rural, gravel road should not become a 55 mile per hour paved thoroughfare.”
Thomas cited environmental concerns with paving. “Asphalt is an impervious, petroleum based substance. When storm water flows over an asphalt roadway, it collects pollutants from that surface, including gasoline, motor oil, and heavy metals from vehicles. These carcinogens are then washed into streams and rivers, contaminating drinking water supplies and polluting the water cycle indefinitely. Permeable pavement or porous asphalt might be an alternative to consider.”
Counties and municipalities, said Thomas, are converting paved roads to unpaved. “The question here is what kind of maintenance/ infrastructure burden do we wish to leave for the future? NCHRP (National Cooperative Highway Research Program) Synthesis 485 found that the practice of converting paved roads to unpaved is relatively widespread; recent road conversion projects were identified in 27 states. These primarily rural, low-volume roads were paved when asphalt and prices were low. Those asphalt roads have now aged well beyond their design service life, are rapidly deteriorating, and are difficult to maintain. Instead, many local road agencies are converting these deteriorated paved roads to unpaved as a more sustainable solution.”
Last, Thomas brought up the cost of the project. “It appears that the current estimate to pave the 6.7 miles of Pike Lake Road is $10 million, or about one and one-half million dollars per mile, in addition to the half-million-dollar design fee. Quite simply, I wonder if this is the best way to spend all of that money.”
When contacted, Cook County Highway Engineer Dave Betts said that by statute Pike Lake Road’s speed limit is already set at 55 miles per hour. “When Pike Lake Road is in shape, people are already driving Pike Lake at 55 miles per hour.”
As far as paving versus restoring gravel, Betts said Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) suggests gravel roads should be paved when traffic volume is more than 140 vehicles per day. A traffic study conducted from 2006 to 2008 showed 200-plus vehicles travel Pike Lake Road each day. In 2014 that number reached 300 and Betts said it could be as high as 400 today.
“With that kind of volume on a gravel road, it’s impossible to keep them in shape,” said Betts. “We blade the road and it’s washboard right away. Pavement doesn’t move.”
Concerning pollutants on paved road, Betts said, “They are also going to be on gravel roads.”
As far as cost, Betts said, “The only reason counties are typically turning their paved roads back to gravel is because the volume of traffic has decreased. Every 4-5 years we have to re-gravel our gravel roads, which is very expensive.”
And the $10 million price tag, Betts explained, is an early estimate and would cover cost not only of the paving and rebuilding the road, but pay for hiring engineers and paying between $500,000 to $600,000 for right of way.
“We don’t own our right of way. When we acquire right of way we will be able to maintain the road better. We will be better able to do ditching and MPCA will make sure we do storm water treatment. We will also look at making safe walking areas. This will be a far more environmentally friendly road than the one we have now.
“When we have more information we will have a meeting with the people on Pike Lake Road. Right now we are still in the early stage of gathering information. I know there will be some detractors, but when the road is done, I think most people will be very happy with it.”
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