New Problems For Highway 53 Relocation Project; Unaddressed Safety Concerns And Limited Funds Could Have An Affect On Northland Drivers For Decades

Highway 53 south of Virginia must move to make way for future mining expansion by United Taconite.  Plans have been in the works for the last few years to propose, design, and move the major arterial highway by 2017.  No compromise has been reached yet on a new route and now new wrinkles appear to create an even deeper quagmire.

At a recent project update, officials with the Minnesota Department of Transportation acknowledged that the entire project is limited to a financial pool of $90-million dollars - something that all sides of the issue stress isn't enough.

Furthermore, very detailed safety concerns were vocalized - which could send the entire project back to the start of the design process.

Read more about the project and the new problems by clicking here.