Crews will begin blasting Monday along Haines Road in Duluth as construction gets under way in earnest on the $12 million St. Louis County project.
About 65,000 cubic yards of rock, weighing an estimated 150,000 tons, needs to be removed. The rock will be crushed and reused onsite as roadway material and to line slopes.
Three to four blasts per day could occur over the next few months, county public works officials said Friday. Blasting will occur between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Falcon Drilling and Blasting Co. is the contractor.
Haines Road, officially known as CSAH 91, sustained heavy damage from the heavy rains and resulting runoff during last June's storm, forcing the closure of a 2¼-mile segment between 40th Avenue West to approximately 1,000 feet south of Mary Lane.
The rebuilding of Haines Road is the largest-ever standalone project for St. Louis County Public Works. When the road reopens in November it will feature three lanes -- two lanes for traffic going uphill, one lane coming down -- and include a sidewalk. A right-turn lane will be added at Morris Thomas Road. The curve at "horseshoe bend" will be designed for 25 mph speeds, up from 20 mph. A large underpass will be added where the Superior Hiking Trail crosses Haines Road, plus there will be a parking area with space for five vehicles.
