Portion of Cross City Trail Remains Closed as Cleanup Continues

DULUTH, Minn. – It will be at least another eight months until a portion of Duluth’s Cross City Trail is back open.

The City of Duluth and the Environmental Protection Agency recently provided an update on the work being done to clean up and restore the ponds behind Erie Pond.

This area is part of the St. Louis Area of Concern and contains contaminated sediment in the ponds and Shoppers Creek. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, have been conducting a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative sediment remediation project to clean-up the area.

Work on this project are expected to continue until July 1, 2023. Officials are asking the public to continue to avoid the closed section of the Cross City Trail until the project is completed.

The portion of trail impacted by this closure begins at Ramsey Street below I-35 and stretches to South 40th Avenue West. The detour directs people to use Ramsey Street and Recycle Way to Mike Colalillo Drive, then turns northeast on Grand Avenue until they reach North 34th Avenue West. At this location, users can turn south on North 34th Avenue and connect to West Superior Street, with the option of reconnecting to the existing Trail through Lincoln Park or passing over I-35. People are advised that the trail is again closed at 37th Avenue West and will need to turn around.

This remediation project will address approximately 45,000 cubic yards of material contaminated with heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PCBs), and dioxins. Removing this sediment will improve the health of the St. Louis River and Lake Superior.

After the in-water work is complete and the contaminated sediment is transported off-site, the Trail and other impacted areas will undergo restoration and revegetation.