A road closure may minorly snarl some traffic for those who take Scenic Highway 61 between Duluth and Two Harbors.
Crews are working on restoring a 200-foot stretch of the highway north of the New Scenic Café, according to Rachel Gregg with St. Louis County Public Works. The resulting detour begins just north of the restaurant and shifts traffic over to U.S. Highway 61 for about four miles, she said.
“You will have to utilize the detour route to continue up to Two Harbors,” Gregg said.
According to county officials, parts of the Scenic Highway are rapidly sliding toward Lake Superior.
“Various portions of (the road) have signs of slope instability,” said Gregg. She said some tension cracks had developed near the restaurant on the road this summer. Some cracks were as long as 100 feet, according to residents in the area.
The detour will be in place for at least four weeks, if not longer. Gregg said there are plans to perform work on a nearly 2,000-foot section of the road next summer to permanently fix the erosion and its impacts.
The county will work to find the best time before, after, or between big events in the area like Grandma’s Marathon. But the work needs to happen.
“The road is sloughing away into the lake side,” Gregg said.
