Hwy 2 work to resume

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Sept. 1, 1996

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

Construction on Highway 2 east of Bemidji to Cass Lake should resume Tuesday, according to Lynn Eaton, state Department of Transportation spokesman in Bemidji.

Eaton, the project's engineer, said a several-day halt in construction was caused by a disagreement between the project's contractor and MnDOT over a type of mix that will be used in the new road.

He said barring any obstacles, and if the weather cooperates, the construction crew should be finishing the eastbound lanes in about 10 days, and the traffic will then be switched to those lanes. The crew will begin regrading and resurfacing the westbound lanes thereafter.

"I hope we'll have it ready for winter," he said. "If the weather cooperates, we'll get it done."

The grading of the westbound lanes is scheduled to be completed by the end of September, and the paving could be finished by mid-October, Eaton said.

However, depending upon when winter sets in, it is unknown if the final wearing surface will be finished on the westbound lanes before winter. He said if the weather cools before the final wearing surface is done, a temporary surface may be placed on the road until next spring, which is a common technique in road construction.

Overall, motorists can expect to be limited to one lane going each way until at least October, so Eaton cautions motorists as to how they drive through the zone until it is finished.

"In the last few years, other MnDOT and Highway Patrol officials and I have been appalled at the lack of respect motorists have had in work zones," Eaton said. "We had two workers hit in a boom truck on Interstate 94, and they'll never be the same. The accidents are caused by just over-driving the situation."

Construction on Highway 2 between Cass Lake and Bemidji to increase it from a two-lane highway to four lanes has been hampered twice, first by a late spring thaw and then recently by a breakdown of machinery.