A recent letter to the editor spoke highly of the county road department on the work they have done on Pike Lake Road. This letter in particular points out the work done by installing a guard rail at the look-out on the west side of the Cascade River bridge.
I wonder who designed that. Was it the county engineer? If you look at the guardrail it runs down the south side of the road and prevents any vehicle from dropping down about 30 feet only to be guided to a 150-foot sheer drop. Nice huh?
As for hauling gravel on the road I have to agree. It’s about time, we’ve waited years for gravel. We the taxpayers pay the county for the maintenance of the road. They recently placed a new mailbox post at my place. I didn’t ask for it, it just appeared one day – what was wrong with my old mailbox?
The county, in my opinion, should be ditching and replacing culverts and grading instead of mailbox posts. Just look at the holes in my driveway culvert, and the ditch is full and has been for about four years. Where is the maintenance?
The grading of the road leaves a lot to be desired. The last time the grader came out he started at the top of the west side of the river and headed east only to leave a furrow down the middle of the road and left—what was that all about? We are dodging potholes daily for weeks on end—where is the grader maintenance? The county spends lots of tax money on upgrading its equipment and buying new equipment and buildings. I wonder if there is any money left for maintenance.
I understand maintenance, guardrails and culverts are expensive but isn’t there a priority to the system? It would be devastating if a school bus with children followed that guardrail down the 150-foot drop. Wake up engineering!
Jim Lawson
Grand Marais
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