Street into Morgan Park Still Closed After CN Rail Bridge Concerns

The road has been closed for nearly two months, after the CN bridge running over it was found to have "advanced deterioration"

DULUTH, Minn. – One of the only roads into the Morgan Park Neighborhood remains closed after a Canadian National-owned rail bridge was shut down due to “advanced deterioration” nearly two months ago.

On October 4, city officials announced that an annual inspection of a CN-owned rail bridge of Idaho Street in West Duluth found “advanced deterioration” that made travel over or under the bridge a concern.

The route is one of the only ways in or out of Morgan Park Neighborhood, but roughly two months on, there’s no timeline for when Idaho Street will be reponed.

In a press release from Wednesday, the City of Duluth said it is working with CN and the Minnesota Department of Transportation to address the issues found in their initial inspection. The release added that “Additional structural analysis is being conducted to determine the current capacity of the bridge and what improvements may be necessary to safely reopen the bridge.”

We reached out to CN, whose media representative, Ashley Michnowski, replied with a statement, “Safety is a core value at CN, and we are committed to ensuring the highest standards in our operations. As a result of recent inspections, CN conducted necessary repairs on our rail bridge over Idaho Street in Duluth. We are actively working with the City of Duluth on the next steps to reopen the roadway.”