Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Richard Jenkins/Daily Globe THE INSTALLATION of replacement Culvert 13 last week on Lake Road at Little Girl's Point was a key step in completing repairs following the flooding that was part of the July 11 storm. The repairs were completed this week, fully reopening Lake Road from both Wisconsin and Michigan Thursday.
By RICHARD JENKINS
One-hundred and thirty days ago, a July 11 storm hit the Gogebic Range, causing flooding that stranded residents and washed out roads in the northern part of Iron and Gogebic counties.
On Thursday, the final two roads - Wisconsin 169 and Lake Road at Little Girl's Point - reopened.
Wisconsin 169 reopened following completion of a new bridge over Vaughn Creek in the town of Gurney. The cost to construct the bridge over the wash-out is estimated around $1.3 million.
The delivery and installation of the culverts opened the road to travel from both the Wisconsin and Michigan sides of the border two days before the Nov. 19 deadline that was set when the repair contract was awarded.
Gogebic County Road Commission Engineer-Manager Darren Pionk said work is still being done installing guard rails and cleaning up the sites. Work will continue in spring to repair additional washed-out culverts and repave Lake Road, Pionk said.
The cost for this year's repairs is $2,097,192, with Pionk expecting to spend an additional $750,000 for work next year.
Next year's work will be bid out this winter.
