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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

MnDOT to hear views on Hwy. 169 impact study

Meeting set for Wednesday at VCC

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 1/16/15

ELY— Area residents will have the chance to weigh in on the draft environmental impact report on the proposed Hwy. 169 reconstruction during a public meeting set for Wednesday, Jan. 21, at …

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MnDOT to hear views on Hwy. 169 impact study

Meeting set for Wednesday at VCC

Posted

ELY— Area residents will have the chance to weigh in on the draft environmental impact report on the proposed Hwy. 169 reconstruction during a public meeting set for Wednesday, Jan. 21, at Vermilion Community College, Room CL 104. The event, which runs from 6-9 p.m., will be hosted by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

MnDOT officials released a draft environmental assessment of the long-planned highway project, located between Tower and Ely, last month. As part of that document, MnDOT announced it was focusing on Alternative 3A as its preferred route for the 5.7-mile reconstruction.

MnDOT officials made their recommendation after analyzing a wide range of costs and benefits for each of the options under consideration. They selected Alternative 3A, which combines elements of Alternative 1 and Alternative 3, based on several criteria, including cost ($19 million), a relatively high number of passing opportunities, and the avoidance of a detour. Alternative 1 would upgrade the highway largely within the existing highway corridor.

The project has already seen a number of delays as MnDOT officials have grappled with a number of complex issues and substantial public controversy since first proposing the project. Funding for the project was part of a federal transportation earmark passed through Congress by the late Eighth District Congressman Jim Oberstar.

For those who can’t attend Wednesday’s meeting, MnDOT will still be accepting public comments on the environmental report until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30. All comments should be directed to: Michael Kalnbach, P.E., Minnesota Department of Transportation, District 1 – Duluth, 1123 Mesabi Avenue, Duluth, MN 55811, or emailed to michael.kalnbach @state.mn.us.

The environmental assessment is available for public review online at http://www.dot. state.mn.us/d1/projects/Hwy169eagles/EA-EAW.html.

Hard copies are also available at the Ely, Duluth, and Minneapolis public libraries, and at the MnDOT District One office on Hoover Road in Virginia.

Sulfide issue raised

The longstanding debate over the potential for acid rock drainage as a result of significant rock removal for the highway project is likely to continue, based on comments from a Six Mile Lake landowner, who is also a geologist by profession. Matt Oberhelman has submitted comments on the draft EA suggesting that MnDOT officials are ignoring the advice of the technical expert they hired to provide guidance on the potential for handling the presence of varying levels of sulfide minerals along portions of the various route alternatives.

“The EA is grossly inadequate for not stating or following Dr. Verburg’s expert opinions,” stated Oberhelman in a summary of his comments provided to the Timberjay. Oberhelman cites geologist Rens Verburg, of Golder Associates, who analyzed the issue under a contract with MnDOT. As part of his recommendation, Verburg stated that the Hwy. 169 project “cannot be classified as a ‘low risk’ project,” which means significant geological testing will need to be part of any final route selection.

He said the work already completed by a pair of geologists from the Natural Resources Research Institute qualified primarily as an initial screening, which should be followed by detailed rock sampling and analysis along proposed routes, water sampling and analysis, and possibly geophysical analysis.

It isn’t clear from the EA, however, whether MnDOT plans to undertake this work along whichever alternative it ultimately selects. MnDOT officials have previously stated that they would undertake such additional analysis prior to construction, but were unavailable for additional comment prior to presstime.

MnDOT officials currently plan to announce their final route selection in February. Construction could start as early as winter 2016-17.