The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) told the city of Grand Marais that the Highway 61 roadwork scheduled for next summer would be delayed to 2020.
On Wednesday, January 30, Grand Marais Mayor Jay Arrowsmith-Decoux told the city council that (MnDOT) “has informed us that construction is unlikely to start in 2019 due to the schedule of right of way acquisition.”
MnDOT planned to begin reconstruction of Highway 61 through Grand Marais from 1.8 miles north of Cutface Creek to 0.1 miles south of County Road 14, to resurface, improve accessibility and replace box culverts.
As to MnDOT’s decision to start in 2020 instead of 2019, Grand Marais City Adminstrator Mike Roth said, “I don’t understand all of the reasoning behind it,” but later added he believed MnDOT was trying “to stay within a two-year construciton season.”
Councilor Anton Moody worried about business owners’Metroability to plan around the construciton in light of scheduling changes.
The delay, said councilor Craig Schulte, could be used to give the city time to work with MnDOT to see if they can push the road work in town to begin in May instead of mid-June, as it has been planned.
Councilor Kelly Swearingen and the mayor concurred, mentioning a fall start would also lessen the impact to business in town.
Arrowsmith- Decoux said the city had requested a written summary of the right of way status and the effect on the schedule, which will be shared with the council when it is received.
The steering committee will be meeting with MnDOT to discuss construction schedule changes the first week in February.
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