Update: Highway 61 reopened

Minnesota Highway 61 near Taconite Harbor reopened to trafffic at midday Friday after a truck struck and damaged a bridge across the highway, spurring a 27-mile gravel road detour for motorists.

MnDOT spokeswoman Stephanie Smith-Christensen confirmed that Lakehead Constructors used two 80-ton cranes to remove the damaged bridge and that traffic was again being allowed on the North Shore highway starting around noon as expected.

Safety concerns about the damaged railroad overpass prompted the Minnesota Department of Transportation to set up a lengthy detour Thursday night, routing Highway 61 traffic around Taconite Harbor. Meanwhile, MnDOT and its contractors raced get the compromised span removed ahead of the main rush of Labor Day weekend traffic up the North Shore. 

A truck carrying an oversized load struck the inactive railroad bridge at about 1 p.m. Thursday, MnDOT reported.

The detour used Cook County Road 1, Lake County Road 7, Lake County Road 8 and Minnesota Highway 1.The detour route covers about 27 miles, mostly on gravel roads; the stretch of Highway 61 it replaced is about 20 miles of paved roadway.

Three railroad bridges crossed Highway 61 in the vicinity of Taconite Harbor. They were part of a roughly 75-mile rail line that brought taconite pellets from Hoyt Lakes to Taconite Harbor starting in 1956. The rail line was owned by Erie Mining Co., then LTV, before carrying its last load of taconite in 2001 when LTV went bankrupt.

The line was acquired by Cleveland-Cliffs after the bankruptcy and has been inactive in recent years.

“Since the bridge isn’t owned by MnDOT, there are some questions of who’s responsible for taking the bridge down; (but) it has to come down,” Smith-Christensen said. “MnDOT has kind of said, it doesn’t really matter who’s responsible, let’s just pay for it and get it down and open the road. Our No. 1 priority is getting the road open as soon as possible.”

Thursday's incident isn't the first time the bridges have been struck over the years; the one with the lowest clearance - just over 14 feet, according to MnDOT - carries scars from past collisions.

Last October, a southbound semi hauling an excavator on a flatbed trailer struck one of the overpasses, causing the excavator to break away and slide across the roadway into the opposite ditch. Three people traveling in a northbound Jeep received minor injuries when they swerved to avoid the wreck.

There were no reports of injuries from Thursday’s incident.

1/3: Damage to a steel beam is visible on the underside of a railroad bridge across Minnesota Highway 61 near Taconite Harbor on Thursday, after it was hit by a truck. (Minnesota Department of Transportation photo)

2/3: Damage to a steel beam is visible on the underside of a railroad bridge across Minnesota Highway 61 near Taconite Harbor on Thursday, after it was hit by a truck. (Minnesota Department of Transportation photo)

3/3: A map of the Highway 61 detour in place after a truck hit a bridge near Taconite Harbor on Thursday. Click on the image for the full view. (Google Maps)