Final Phase of Mission Creek Restoration Project Delayed to Spring 2021

DULUTH, Minn.– The Minnesota Department of Transportation is pushing back the final phase of the restoration of a historic Native American burial site in the Fond du Lac neighborhood.

MnDOT crews accidentally unearthed the site in 2017 while working to replace the Highway 23 Bridge over Mission Creek.

With the partnership of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, MnDOT has completed the burial recovery process and returned processed soils for stabilization at the cemetery site. And now officials say it’ll be next spring when the final phase will begin.

Construction on the full project will be sent to bid in October for next year. This will include the work on 134th Avenue West and the Cemetery Landscape Project.

The project was which has been delayed until spring 2021 and expected to finish by the fall.

As COVID-19 restrictions loosen, Fond du Lac is working with MnDOT to find a crew to complete the soil skimming at the central cemetery by mid-July at the latest.

While the effects of the pandemic have caused some delay on construction, project leaders say that COVID-19 won’t have a long lasting impact on the project.

“It did delay us in hiring a crew to do that soil skimming that I mentioned but I believe we have plenty of time in the summer to complete that,” said Mission Creek Project Manager Randy Costley.

MnDOT will continue to maintain and look for ways to improve the conditions of the site. Construction on the Mission Creek Bridge and Trunk Highway 23 will begin in 2024.