REGIONAL – It now looks almost certain that an extension of the Mesabi Trail between Tower and Ely will not be able to use an abandoned portion of Hwy. 169, as trail planners had hoped.

Instead, trail officials have begun preliminary work for an alternative alignment of the bike trail, which would be located just to the south of the current highway.

One of four alternatives currently under consideration by the Minnesota Department of Transportation for a planned upgrade to Hwy. 169 in Breitung and Eagles Nest townships, would abandon an approximately five-mile stretch of the highway and reroute the road to the south. That would have left the abandoned corridor available for the bike trail extension. But delays in the decision-making process for the highway upgrade have effectively foreclosed that option.

According to Mesabi Trail Executive Director Bob Manzoline, trail planners would need a final decision from MnDOT by the end of next month. That’s because failure to begin work on the trail project this year could threaten federal funding for the project. But MnDOT officials told the Timberjay last week that the agency does not expect to have selected a preferred alternative on the highway project before December, at the earliest.

But trail planners say the May deadline is real.

“We have federal alternative transportation grants for 2015 and 2016 that we could lose,” said Manzoline. The trail received $800,000 in federal funding and matching funds from the Legislative-Citizens Committee on Legislative Resources, or LCCMR.

“We have to have a plan in place before then,” said Manzoline, who noted that the Mesabi Trail is hedging its bets by hiring Benchmark Engineering to begin preliminary work on an alternative route for the stretch in question.

At issue is a stretch of the Mesabi Trail from east of the cell tower located just north of Hwy. 169 to Trygg Road. Construction of a portion of the trail, extending through Lake Vermilion State Park, is already underway and another segment — which would extend the trail from Murray Road to the cell tower just north of Hwy. 169 — has already been bid.

There are both benefits and downsides to the change in plans. “Using the existing highway corridor would cost about $400,000,” said Manzoline. “If we have to develop another route, it could easily double or triple the cost.”

On the other hand, said Manzoline, building the trail to the south would place it higher on a ridgeline, offering some very scenic overlooks.

But there are challenges with the other route. “It disturbs some wetlands, but the area has been logged before so it won’t be a big issue,” said Manzoline. “But there are additional costs and environmental issues with the route that wouldn’t exist if we could use the Hwy. 169 corridor.”

Meanwhile, Manzoline said if funding is left over, the trail could be extended to Bear Head Road. The proposal calls for the trail to run through the Eagles Nest lakes area, cross Bear Head Road, and eventually pass along the south side of Armstrong Lake. East of there, the trail would hook up with the existing railroad grade heading into Ely.