EAGLES NEST TWP- A nice-size crowd gathered on the new Highway 169 roadbed, Saturday morning, to watch a controlled blast that is part of the ongoing road improvement project.

The event was a fundraiser for the Eagles Nest Fire Department.

Tom Dobbertiene, Project Supervisor for Hoffman Construction, suggested the idea to the department, noting it would be an interesting up-close look at the major roadway reconstruction. Volunteers from the department and the Eagles Nest Fireflies Auxiliary helped direct traffic and collected the $5 entrance fee.

People drove onto the new southern road alignment, though the observation area is actually 25 feet lower than the finished roadbed. Blasted rock debris, mixed in with tons of crushed limestone will be used to build up the roadbed. Construction workers were lining the area with a thick membrane, to prevent acid seepage, nearby.

The contractors have been conducting blasts two times a day, said Minnesota Department of Transportation Chief Inspector Mike Anderson.

“They are blasting about three tons of rock a day,” he said.

Anderson’s two children, Chloe and Jack, joined their father on the worksite Saturday, getting a closeup view of what their father has been doing six days a week. Transportation Generalist Matt Jivery’s sons, James and Quinn, also were having a “blast” climbing on rocks and collecting some treasures to bring home.

Many adults were also scavenging through the blasted rock debris, finding quartz nuggets along with smatterings of fool’s gold, or iron pyrite.