SOUDAN- Jola and Sopp was awarded the bid for the Tower-Breitung Waste Water Board’s (TBWWB) force main and manhole improvement project. The project includes work in both Tower and Breitung Township, and includes replacement of manholes and main sewer lines along the Mesabi Trail in both Tower and Soudan. The winning bid, at $362,280 plus $15,000 for the op;tional add alternate, was almost half the price of the second bid received. Bids were opened at a special meeting on June 15.
Breitung Township is acting as the fiscal agent for this project. They received a $250,000 grant for the work, but they need to secure a PFA loan (low-interest) for the remainder of the cost. The details of the loan should be available soon. The loan will be repaid by customers of the TBWWB.
Once this project is completed, the Mesabi Trail resurfacing project can begin. The section of the Mesabi Trail between Tower and Soudan was the first section of trail built, and has fallen into poor repair.
In other business at the meeting, the board heard that work on the paving project for the road between St. Martin’s and Hwy. 169 should begin before the Fourth of July.
Other projects on track for this year include work on the bike trail to McKinley Park, work on Spring Rd. and Poplar St., water meter replacements, and work on Stuntz Bay Rd.