City Estimates $18 Million in Damages Caused by Recent Storm
The city of Duluth has announced that there was an estimated $18 million in damages during the Oct. 10 storm to multiple locations in Duluth including the Lakewalk Trail from Canal Park to Leif Erickson Park.
DULUTH, Minn.-The city of Duluth has announced that there was an estimated $18 million in damages during the Oct. 10 storm to multiple locations in Duluth including the Lakewalk Trail from Canal Park to Leif Erickson Park.
Other damaged areas include portions of the shoreline, a section of the seawall by the Minnesota Slip Bridge, the sidewalk behind the DECC, the 12th Street beach access boardwalk, Brighton Beach, and the Lake Superior and Mississippi rail line.
On Tuesday the St. Louis County Board will review and take action on the disaster declaration request for the city to the state. As part of the process, the County Board must make an emergency declaration to the State of Minnesota Homeland Security Emergency Management (HSEM) department. This declaration will be reviewed by HSEM and requires approval of the governor.
The estimate also meets the threshold for federal emergency aid, but will require action from the governor to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“The city appreciates the St. Louis County Board’s partnership as we look towards recovery and restoring these valuable public assets,” said Acting Chief Administrative Officer Keith Hamre. “We are fully committed to not only restoring these assets back to their original state but to ensure that they are rebuilt to resiliency standards to withstand future storms.”
There are outstanding repairs from the two 2017 storms which have a repair cost of about $10 million. The city expects to receive state disaster assistance to support the restoration work from 2017 and had started emergency repairs to the middle section of the Lakewalk Trail before the onset of the October storm.
The city anticipates reopening a temporary path on the Lakewalk Trail in Canal Park before the end of next week. In addition, a temporary sidewalk behind the DECC and vehicle access to Brighton Beach will also reopen towards the end of next week.
The Lakewalk Trail tunnel by Lester River has been cleared and is open for trail users.
