ELY – The west entrance to the city of Ely is undergoing a major renovation with a trailhead project complete with visitor center and Chamber of Commerce offices, a hospital expansion, and street and utility extensions.

While the project marks a major improvement, it has forced the city to find a new drop-off point for recyclables, since the current center is located in the middle of the construction zone. The center was supposed to be relocated this fall, but that effort is now on hold and may not happen as quickly as first announced.

Last month, city staff and council members discussed the project at length and announced plans to move the county-supported recycled material dumpsters to the other end of town adjacent to the softball fields near Hwy. 1 and White Street.

However, at the Oct. 15 Ely city council meeting, Mayor Chuck Novak said the recycling center is staying put on the west end for now.

“The recycling center is going to stay in place right now until the time they need to tear up the tar,” Novak told the council. “It potentially could go to spring. We don’t know what’s going to be on the construction schedule of the contractor at the trailhead site.”

Ely received $1.3 million in state bonding to construct the initial section of roadway, utility extensions and the parking area for the trailhead facility. The first phase of the project began in late summer and construction will continue as long as feasible this fall.

Parking areas and access roads for vehicles utilizing the trailhead will eventually be built. The trailhead will serve the Prospectors Loop for ATVs, Mesabi Trail for bikers, and the Taconite Trail for snowmobilers.

That’s the first phase of a long-discussed plan to redevelop the city’s west end and will include clearing dense woods to make way for a path to connect Fifth Avenue W. to Pattison Street, altering traffic flow around the Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital.

The city’s existing drop-off site for brush and mulch will be eliminated once the recycling center location is moved to the other end of town. City officials have indicated no brush drop-off site will be available in town. Consideration for eventually offering curbside brush pick-up is ongoing, however, no plan is in place at this time.