DULUTH, Minn. — A popular scenic road that runs along Lake Superior near Duluth will be closed for emergency repairs at the height of fall tourism season.
St. Louis County transportation officials say a section of North Shore Scenic Drive, also known as County State Aid Highway 61 (CSAH 61) will be shut down for five weeks as crews make repairs to the popular road. Erosion on the lake side of the old highway is causing the slope leading down to the water to fail.
A county spokesperson says significant rain during the spring of 2022 worsened slope instability in the area, and in late July residents noticed visible cracks in the pavement that stretched approximately 100 feet. Engineers monitored the surface tension cracks and determined that in weeks time the Scenic 61 road shoulder was sloughing away.
The project will begin Tuesday, Oct. 11 and continue through mid-November. Construction will take place on a 1,000-foot stretch of CSAH 61 between Ryan Road and Homestead Road near the New Scenic Café.
Access to homes and to the restaurant will be maintained while work is being done.
Repairs to the slope made this fall are only temporary: transportation officials say a more permanent repair will be done next spring.
For more information on the project and posted detours, check out the St. Louis County website.
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