COOK- There’s little more true in Minnnsota than the summer months here being referred to as road construction season, and that was certainly the case in Cook and the surrounding area as drivers may have encountered up to eight St. Louis County Public Works projects, large and small, that were completed this year.
“That’s kind of how we like to do things here at the county,” said engineer Eric Fallstrom. “Over the last eight to ten years, we’ve shifted to where we like to cluster our projects in areas. We see some economy to scale with how we cluster things, so we just had a ton of work in the area. But I think while there’s inconvenience as these things are happening and it can get frustrating for folks, at the end of the day I think we’ve got some pretty good projects that came out of it.”
The largest project in terms of mileage was the resurfacing of CSAH (County State Aid Highway) 115 from Hwy. 53 north of Cook all the way over to CSAH 77, more than 20 miles of roadwork.
“That was huge, and a good portion of that was federally funded, so that was a really significant reclaim and overlay project,” Fallstrom said.
Vermilion Dr.
A project that mixed utility with beautification was the Vermilion Dr. project in Cook. Fallstrom pointed out that it was as much an excavation project as it was laying down new asphalt, curb and guttering.
“The most significant part of the Vermilion Dr. project was really trying to remove some of the more questionable soils that were below, as far as some peat and organics, to just get some good clean sand and gravel material below that roadway,” Fallstrom said. “Over the last 15 to 20 years there had been a lot of settlement and frost heaving action. So, we spent quite a bit of money and time to get some sub-grade material in there. We dug down about anywhere from four to six feet in depth to get rid of that material.”
And in doing all that digging, workers discovered something they hadn’t counted on finding – a 500-gallon fuel oil tank near the Cook Building Center.
“We had to kind of pause the project a little bit to deal with that,” Fallstrom said. “We had to make sure we were properly remediating that and disposing of the material.”
Fallstrom said the Vermilion Dr. project was the only one in the area somewhat affected by the June 18 thunderstorm and subsequent flood.
“Vermilion Dr. hadn’t even really been torn into or opened up yet at that point, because the contractor was working on the River St. extension for the city of Cook,” Fallstrom said.
The Vermilion Dr. project involved more than just improving the road surface, too, including some storm sewer improvements, new curb and gutters, an ADA-compliant sidewalk, new lighting, and a redesigned intersection with River St. that’s been changed to a four-way stop.
Fallstrom had high praise for the city of Cook, residents and businesses for their cooperation during the project.
“It was one of the easiest projects from a standpoint of fielding calls and complaints,” Fallstrom said. “People were super thankful and patient through the project. It’s nice when we can work together with the residents and business owners and hopefully everybody will be happy with the outcome here.”
Olson Rd.
Daredevil drivers are likely the only ones disappointed by the resurfacing of Olson Rd. from Hwy. 53 at North Woods School to CSAH 24. Double-chip sealed years ago, the pavement had deteriorated to the point that many sections had been managed back to packed gravel and drivers were constantly on the lookout for the newest potholes.
“There’s a use for those double chip-seals in certain applications, but at some point they get to the point where it’s just tough for our maintenance forces to continue – do you patch it? Do you reclaim it back to gravel?”
The repaved road is safer for all traffic now, but particularly so for the buses transporting students to the school, Fallstrom said.
Other notable projects completed in the area include:
• Beatty Rd. east of CSAH 24 north of Cook, then continuing south on Vermilion Lake Rd. to the intersection with CSAH 115. The entire four miles was paved, and the work included culvert replacements and grading.
• CSAH 22, four miles west from the intersection of Hwy. 1 and Hwy. 53 to the intersection with Samuelson Rd.
• A culvert replacement project for 11 culverts from the intersection of E Lind Rd. and Samuelson Rd., proceeding north on Samuelson Rd. and winding its way to the intersection with Hwy. 53.
• A bridge on Samuelson Rd. (CSAH 25) over the Rice River, three miles southwest of Cook, was completely replaced.
• A bridge on Three Rivers Rd. (CR 958) that spans the Rice River, approximately 3.8 miles southwest of Cook, was also completely replaced.
Fallstrom noted that the extent of the work was made possible through the foresight of county commissioners and Public Works Director Jim Foldesi who advocated for the half-percent transportation sales tax that collects $13-15 million annually for road and bridge projects.
“That’s what helped move these projects along,” Fallstrom said. “People want to see results with their tax money, so it’s good these projects are happening.”