Gunflint Trail project scaled back as highway department revises construction plans
With what feels like the official start to summer this week, the Cook County Highway Department is preparing to begin several of the 2026 summer projects.
This summer, the highway department will begin work on a multi-use trail in Grand Marais, carry out several improvement projects on the Arrowhead Trail and on Chicago Bay Road, and improve a five-mile section on the Gunflint Trail.
While most of the projects remain on schedule and unchanged in scope, plans for the five-mile section of the Gunflint Trail project have been altered over the last month.
Initially, the highway department planned to resurface a five-mile section of the road and replace approximately 20 culverts north of the mid-trail area between Co Rd 92E and 92W, with traffic being detoured onto Co Rd 92 in the interim.
Due to long stretches of narrow road on Co Rd 92 in several areas, the highway department determined it was not suitable for motorists to use as a detour route.
Cook County Highway Engineer Robbie Hass said that for those who live up the Gunflint Trail or frequent the area often, many know it’s “not a good road for the volume of traffic we would potentially be putting on there.”
He said it was an “oversight” on the highway department’s part, and that plans have been changed.
County Road 92 will no longer be used as a detour this summer for the Gunflint Trail construction project | Photo by Kalli Hawkins
The five-mile section will still be resurfaced, but rather than a detour, the plan is to keep one lane open with either a stoplight system or flaggers, Hass said. The number of culverts planned for replacement has also dropped from 20 to approximately 15.
“There’s still going to be delays on the Gunflint Trail this summer,” Hass said. “But I think it’ll be a lot smoother than moving people onto County Road 92.”
One of the culverts slated for replacement is located where water is pooling along the Gunflint Trail, but Hass noted that a few beavers are currently helping to prevent further flooding across the roadway. Hass said the culvert has collapsed, along with several others in the five-mile section.
“I think the beavers are saving the road, if I’m being honest,” Hass said.
One of the collapsed culverts and recent beaver activity in the five-mile stretch of the Gunflint Trail | Photo by Kalli Hawkins
The construction project on the Gunflint Trail is scheduled to begin late summer, presumably in August, with completion later in the fall.
The project is funded by two grants: the Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP) and Rainy River Headwaters funds. The LRIP is a state grant the county was awarded, with $1.5 million allocated toward the project. The highway department also secured $67,000 in funding from the Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District to replace the culverts and improve connectivity to water bodies.
Other projects this summer include construction on a multi-use trail that connects to the existing walking and biking trail in front of Great Expectations School and stretches along the Gunflint Trail towards 5th Ave. W, then turn south on 5th Ave W and connect to the existing sidewalk near the Cook County Recycling Center. Construction is expected to begin in early summer.
On the east end of the county, the highway department will resurface 2.5 miles of road on the Arrowhead Trail, replace culverts, and increase the size of the culvert at the Otis Creek crossing. Towards the end of the Arrowhead Trail, the Pine River bridge will be replaced with a new single-span prestressed concrete bridge with timber railings.
The highway department will also resurface Chicago Bay Road and replace existing culverts. The road will not be striped, and the Hovland dock parking area will remain gravel.
WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Cook County Highway Engineer Robbie Hass live on Daybreak about the construction plan changes for the five-mile section of the Gunflint Trail, the recent news of $1 million of state funding secured for a future Gunflint Trail project, and the first SGSD meeting. Audio is below.
Kalli Hawkins May 29, 2026
