Ironwood construction won't slow down in '15

IRONWOOD — While 2014 marked an extremely busy year in Ironwood, city manager Scott Erickson said it will pale in comparison to 2015.

Recently, Erickson quickly ticked off to the city commission a list of some of the 24 projects ahead for next year.

Completion of the second half of the reconstruction of U.S. 2 and the related infrastructure work involved is included, as are funding for trails and parks, fencing around abandoned mine-shafts and continuation of the city’s blight fight, including demolition of additional eyesores.

Also, considerable grant money will be spent to repair the infrastructure system following the winter of 2013-14, the most severe in Ironwood’s history. Replacement of damaged watermains is high on the list.

Near the end of year, the city received word it will receive a $675,000 grant to fight blight, $295,000 for the Ironwood to Bessemer non-motorized trail project (through Gogebic County), $37,500 for Curry Park improvements and $37,500 for the Depot Park playground.

The Ironwood-Bessemer trail project involves construction of a 4.2‐mile, 10‐foot wide, paved recreation trail on a former railroad grade.

The Michigan Department of Transportation U.S. 2 reconstruction project for 2014 extended from the Michigan welcome center to Curry Street. Since it involved tearing up the entire road surface and related infrastructure work, traffic was reduced to one lane throughout the summer. That resulted in a McLeod Avenue detour and the removal of two stop signs along that downtown route.

Regarding the infrastructure work, water and sewer pipes nearly 100 years old have or will be replaced. That will cut down on the rash of water breaks that plagued the city through the brutal last winter.

Businesses had to adjust to the work over the summer and the Ironwood Area Chamber of Commerce assisted by erecting signs that pointed visitors to back routes to U.S. 2 businesses.

A very wet autumn for a short time left large trenches of water in the holes that were dug out by Snow Country Contracting, of Bessemer, but the rebuilt stretch of Cloverland Drive was completed nearly on time.

For 2015, the U.S. 2 reconstruction work will be from Curry Street to Luxmore Street.

Each lane of the four-lane highway is being widened from 11 feet to 12 feet.

Center lanes for left turns will be constructed in 2015 at the U.S. 2 Business Route intersection (Douglas Boulevard) and Lake Street. Both of the intersections are signalized.

While the U.S. 2 work was progressing in 2014, at the other end of the city, a utility project with Ruotsala Construction as prime contractor was also being undertaken, with some work remaining to be finished in 2015.

Also adding to the rebuilding of the city, Ironwood voters in the fall approved a special 10-year millage to resurface about 10 miles of streets next year.

The vote was 832-651, or 56 to 44 percent, to levy 2 mills for general obligation tax bonds to be repaid over a 10-year period, for about $1.4 million in street work.

There are around 62 miles of streets in the city and although many have been resurfaced in the past several years, including quite a bit of work in 2014, about 20 miles are still in bad shape.

City residents were told the work will likely begin in Norrie Location and move from south to north, covering as many streets as $1.4 million will allow.

The street millage replaces a special millage for the Memorial Building renovation project, which is expiring.