New bridge on Gunflint Trail opens, Mill the Hill project nears December 1 completion

Only a handful of final construction tasks remain for the Gunflint Trail ‘Mill the Hill’ project, which has been underway since late spring.

Construction crews recently began removing the temporary bridge over the Little Devil’s Track River and shifted one-lane traffic onto the new 160-foot single-span bridge.

“I was very excited to see that,” said Cook County Highway Engineer Robbie Hass. “It was really cool to see all the effort.”

Hass said that as of Nov. 13, most of the completed projects include the installation of the guardrails along a section of the lower Gunflint Trail, resurfacing and restriping, and the realignment of Cutoff Road and Old Ski Hill Road.  

Hass said crews installed the guardrails as a “requirement” due to the steep slope on the south side of the Gunflint Trail.

Another completed project is the widening of the Gunflint Trail to four lanes, starting at Fifth Avenue near the Gunflint Vue apartment and extending to the Pincushion Mountain turnoff.

Four-lane Gunflint Trail | Photo by Kalli Hawkins

The final tasks to complete before the targeted Dec. 1 deadline are to finish removing the temporary bridge, remove the stoplights, open the remainder of the new bridge, and reinstall necessary signage.

“Once that temporary bridge is out, they’re going to be resloping everything back down and cleaning everything up. Making it a final product,” Hass said.

While the more significant portion of the construction project is nearing completion, Hass said there will be additional minor details to finish in the spring of 2026. “They’ll still be a little bit of work next year,” he said. Next spring and summer, crews will work on vegetation and landscaping-related tasks along the shoulders of the Gunflint Trail.

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Cook County Highway Engineer Robbie Hass live on Daybreak on Nov. 13 to talk about the remainder of the ‘Mill the Hill’ project and other highway department updates. The audio is below.

Kalli Hawkins November 15, 2025