The Superior National Forest will be conducting several road improvement projects in the Tofte and Gunflint areas. These improvement projects are needed to update the current transportation infrastructure to accommodate traffic patterns and vehicular use of these system roads into the future. Maintenance and improvement repairs are beginning this month and will continue into the summer to fall months. The following describes scheduled road work, impacts, and alternative routes if available. Roads impacted by these projects include:

Forest Road (FR) 325-South Brule Road

FR 164-Honeymoon Trail

FR 326-Brule Lake Road

FR 336-Onion River Road

FR 309-Assinika Creek Culvert

FR 170-Cascade River Culvert

Forest Road (FR) 325 South Brule Road-Work will begin again on April 29, 2024

Work: Contractor started hauling gravel late last fall and will continue to haul as road conditions allow. Following gravel hauling, installation of culverts and ditching will begin. 

Impacts: Heavy truck traffic will be present thought out the project. Road will be open during gravel haul operations although users may encounter soft gravel. Low clearance and 2wd vehicles may have difficulty through these areas at times until the grader works it out. During culvert operations users will encounter delays of up to one hour for each culvert. Equipment such as culverts and small gravel piles may occur along the road. Expect short delays during truck loading and unloading operations.

Locations/Rec Sites Affected:

Bower Trout BWCAW Entry Point #43

Ram Lake BWCAW Entry Point #44

Twin Lakes Campground & Boat Access (MNDNR)

Morgan Lake BWCAW Entry Point #45

Alternative Routes: Users may avoid most of the work by continuing north on the Gunflint Trail and taking FR 152-Twin Lakes Road. There is a short one-mile distance of FR 152 (Twin Lakes Rd) which will be used by trucks going between the gravel pit and project site.

FR164 Honeymoon Trail-Work Scheduled to begin around May 6, 2024

Work: Culvert replacement, cleaning and constructing ditches and gravel work on the entire road surface. Trucks will use the entire road during the process. Following gravel and culvert placement on the east end, calcium chloride will be applied to reduce dust and work will begin on the west end.

Impacts: Heavy truck traffic will be present thought out the project. Road will be open during gravel haul operations although users may encounter soft gravel. Low clearance and 2wd vehicles may have difficulty through these areas at times until the grader works it out. During culvert operations users will encounter delays of up to one hour for each culvert. Culverts and small gravel piles will be staged along the road and drivers will encounter equipment on roads clearing ditches and loading trucks. Expect short delays when trucks are loading

Locations/Rec Sites Affected:

Honeymoon Trail Property Owners

Barker Lake Property Owners

Barker Lake Trailhead

Christine Lake Access

White Pine Lake Campground

White Pine Lake Boat Access

Poplar River Campground

Alternative Routes: There are no alternative routes to access sites on the Honeymoon Trail or Barker. Users could avoid delay and construction by adjusting which side of the Honeymoon they access.

FR326 Brule Lake Road

Work: Culvert replacement, cleaning and constructing ditches and gravel work on the entire road surface.

Impacts: Heavy truck traffic will be present thought out the project. Road will be open during gravel haul operations although users may encounter soft gravel. Low clearance and 2wd vehicles may have difficulty through these areas at times until the grader works it out. During culvert operations users will encounter delays of up to 1 hour for each culvert. Culverts and small gravel piles will be staged along the road and drivers will encounter equipment on roads clearing ditches and loading trucks. Expect short delays when trucks are loading.

Locations/Rec Sites Affected:

Brule Lake Entry Point

Homer Lake

Star Lake

Alternative Routes: No alternative route around this project.

FR336 Onion River Road

Work: Culver replacement, cleaning and constructing ditches, and adding gravel on entire road surface. Improve parking areas above main lot for use by bike trail users.

Impacts: Heavy truck traffic will be present thought out the project. Road will be open during gravel haul operations although users may encounter soft gravel. Low clearance and 2wd vehicles may have difficulty through these areas at times until the grader works it out. During culvert operations users will encounter delays of up to one hour for each culvert. There may be culverts and small gravel piles staged along the road. During ditching users will encounter an equipment on roads clearing ditches and loading trucks. There may be short delays while trucks are loading. Most of the ditching and culvert work will be beyond the hiking trail parking lot. Work will begin on the lower half, from Hwy 61 to the Oberg parking lot, shortly after road restrictions are lifted, beginning with gravel and calcium chloride. Work on the upper section from the Oberg parking lot to the end of the road will be started at a later date. Work is expected to begin after Honeymoon Trail work, anticipated for early June.

Locations/Rec Sites Affected:

Oberg Mountain Trailhead

Bike Trail Access points

Alternative Routes: No alternative routes around this work.

FR 309-Greenwood Lake Rd. Assinika Creek Culvert Replacement

Work: Contractor will be replacing the Assinika Creek culvert under FR 309 just west of the FR 309/FR 313 (Greenwood/Shoe Lake Road) intersection. This will require the road at Assinika Creek to be CLOSED during the entire project. Project should last approximately one month. Expected start date will be in July and run into August.

Impacts: Road will be closed at Assinika Creek which is just west of the FR 309/313 (Greenwood/Shoe Lake Road) intersection. Minimal construction impacts outside of closed area.

Locations/Rec sites affected:

Thru traffic between the Gunflint the Arrowhead trail

Greenwood Lake Property Owners

Shoe Lake Access

Bean Lake Access

Crocodile Entry Point

Carrot Lake Access

Alternative Routes: Any user needing access to areas east of Assinka Creek or along FR 313 Shoe Lake Road will need to access FR 313 from the east off of the Arrowhead Trail. The road will likely be closed for the month of July.

FR 170-Cascade River Culvert Replacement

Work: This project will replace the double culverts at the Cascade River Crossing on FR 170- The Grade. They will be replaced with a bridge.

Impacts: FR 170 (The Grade) will be closed at the Cascade River Crossing. This closure will begin in July and continue into October.

Locations/Rec sites affected:

Many sites will be impacted by this closure. This list only includes sites in the immediate vicinity of the project.

Eagle Mountain

Cascade Lake

Brule Lake Access

Homer Lake Access

Thru traffic on FR 170-The Grade

Alternative Routes: Sites east of the 6 Hundred Road (FR 166)/The Fourmile Grade (FR 170) intersection will be accessed from the east side of FR 170. Two Island property owners and those accessing Eagle Mountain Trailhead will only be able to access from the east. Everything west of Cascade River will be accessed from the west. Options from this direction are either the CR 4 (Caribou Trail) up to FR 170 (The Grade) or CR 2 (Sawbill Trail) to FR 170 (The Grade).

Additional Impacts: There will be additional impacts on local roads with gravel being hauled. Most gravel for the road improvement project will be coming from the Dog Tired pit on the Sawbill Trail. Trucks will be going both down towards Hwy 61 and up to The Grade and across the Grade to Brule Lake Road. See attached map for locations.

Superior NF staff and contractors understand that these updates may cause some inconvenience to your everyday and vacation travels, and we seek your kind understanding and cooperation. If you have additional questions, please contact the Tofte District Ranger Office at 218-663-8060 or Gunflint Ranger Office 218- 387-1750 for up-to-date project information. You can additionally sign up for Tofte Ranger District or Gunflint Ranger District updates and news by going to our website and clicking on ‘sign up for our newsletter’ and choose ‘Tofte District information” and/or “Gunflint District information” at Superior NF Newsletter. You may manage your subscription and remove yourself at the close of the project or decide to stay on for future information.

News and Newsletter URL:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/superior/home/?cid=FSEPRD1115779