Minnesota Hwy 61 traffic delays (August 2014)

[philranger]

The Minnesota Hwy Dept is doing major road repairs to Hwy 61. These are the areas I discovered on a recent trip to Grand Portage .

1. Detour off Hwy 61, north of Silver Bay, onto Hwy 1, then Hwy 7, then Hwy 2 coming back onto Hwy 61 at Tofte. This was a 6 mile detour which bypasses Little Marias.

2. Rolling one lane delay near the Manitou River. For this delay, you stop and wait for a work vehicle to lead you through a one lane unpaved road construction area. This was a 1.5 mile project and we were stopped for 15 minutes, as we waited for the line of vehicles to come through.Then you get to drive slowly behind trucks and Winnebagos.

3. Another one lane construction project, south of Cascade State Park. This was a .5 mile project that had hanging signals on the way up and flagmen on the way home.

[smokey brown]

Drove this twice during the past week. All the delays adds about 40 minutes to the drive between Duluth and Grand Portage.

[tree rattt]

Anyone know if we are expecting road construction this year?

[IRexpat]

According to MNDOT there are two projects on 61 North of Duluth;

May 11 to October 16, 2015
Location
5.9 miles south of County Road 12 (Gunflint Trail) at Cut Face Creek
Replace Culvert with a bridge
When this project begins motorists will encounter a single-lane bypass controlled by a temporary signal.

and

Hwy 61 Grand Marais to Grand Portage
Description: Maintain, improve drainage systems
Construction Dates: Late summer - Fall 2015
Traffic Impacts: Lane closures controlled by signals or flaggers
More information:
mndot.gov/us/d1/projects/Hwy61-grandmarais-grandportage

No mention of brush clearing like last summer; can't remember if that was publicized ahead of time.

AFAIK I-35 will be smooth sailing North of the Metro. Or, as smooth as possible behind a Winnebago towing a boat/ATV trailer, following a jacked-up pickup, who is tailgating a minivan, who is....