Road, multi-use trail construction underway with wildfire response factored into Gunflint Trail project

With summer in full swing, the Cook County Highway Department has begun several construction projects, with work continuing into the fall.

This week, work began on the multi-use trail project along the lower Gunflint Trail in Grand Marais. The current multi-use trail stops at Great Expectations School. It will be extended to run along the Gunflint Trail up to the intersection at 5th Avenue W and then down to the Cook County Recycling Center.

“It’ll be a 10-foot-wide paved trail, so very similar to the one we did a few years ago next to GES,” Robbie Hass, highway engineer, told WTIP in a former interview.

Crews, cones, and signage were present near the recycling center and along the lower Gunflint Trail this week as preliminary work began.

Over the next few months, the highway department will carry out several other improvement projects on the Arrowhead Trail and on Chicago Bay Road, and improve a five-mile section on the Gunflint Trail.

With the ongoing local, state, and federal response to the Little Knife Fire, burning west of the end of the Gunflint Trail, and the current ‘Set’ and ‘Ready’ evacuation zones in the area, the highway department has taken that into consideration for the upcoming project.

The project is scheduled to begin in mid to late August. The scope of the project includes replacing 17 culverts and resurfacing a five-mile section of the road, located between Co Road 92E and 92W.

During the duration of the project, that section of the Gunflint Trail will be limited to one lane.

Mid-Gunflint Trail project set to begin in mid to late August | Photo by Kalli Hawkins

To address concerns about wildfire risk if evacuation orders remain in place when the project is scheduled to begin, the highway department has developed a plan, outlined below.

“In the interest of public safety during times of increased wildfire activity, Highway Department Engineering personnel will actively monitor updates from Cook County Emergency Management as well as State and Federal agencies responding to the wildfires.

If evacuation zones are identified in the area served by the Gunflint Trail, and those evacuation zones are elevated to the “Set” level (“Ready, Set, Go” orders), all excavations will be immediately filled, and all construction activity will then cease. This will allow responding fire personnel to gain access to the area while residents and visitors have a clear path to evacuate if a “Go” order is issued.

Construction activity will only resume after the evacuation level is reduced to a “Ready” state, or the evacuation zones are lifted completely.”

This means that the project will not commence if any area along the Gunflint Trail remains or is placed in a ‘Set’ evacuation designation. Over the next four weeks, the highway department and local officials will monitor conditions and make adjustments as needed for the project.

Cook County Highway Engineer Robbie Hass told WTIP that the highway department plans to host a public informational town hall at the Schaap Community Center in August, before the project commences, to allow Gunflint Trail residents and the public to learn more about the project and ask questions. With some uncertainty about what wildfire conditions will look like in mid-August, a date has not been set for the meeting.

The mid Gunflint Trail 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.

Further east, near Hovland, the highway department has several projects scheduled for this summer.

The Arrowhead Trail Improvement Project includes resurfacing 2.5 miles of road, culvert replacements, and increasing the size of the culvert at the Otis Creek crossing to address flooding issues. The project is funded through an annual state aid allocation and bridge bonding. The highway department anticipates using a temporary bypass at the Otis Creek crossing during construction.

Work began on Monday, July 20, with the replacement of culverts. Traffic will be limited to one lane at a time.

“Please follow visual instructions from personnel onsite and proceed through the area with caution when instructed,” the highway department said.

The same wildfire safety plan will apply to the Arrowhead Trail. If any area served by the Arrowhead Trail enters a ‘Set’ designation, the project will cease immediately.

Towards the end of the Arrowhead Trail, the Pine River bridge, built in the 1960s, will be replaced. The highway department secured over $1.6 million in state bridge bonds and town bridge bonds for the project. The new bridge will be a 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. The project is funded by local Transportation Sales Tax (TST) funds.

Kalli Hawkins July 23, 2026