Impact of I-35 on the City of Duluth

DULUTH - Interstate 35 stretches from Texas all the way to Duluth and took nearly 40 years to complete.

In this week's Northland Uncovered, we look at the history of the I-35 construction in the Northland and how it's affected the city of Duluth.

I–35 seems to flow naturally through the city of Duluth and it's become a national model for how highways are built.

"The expansion of I–35 meant Duluth had arrived," said Keith Hamre, the Director of Planning and Construction for the city of Duluth.

Construction on I-35 started in the 1950s, but in Duluth the drama didn't begin until 1971.

"That involved tremendous amounts of work; moving railroads and displacing many, many homes," said Todd Campbell, Program Delivery Engineer for MnDOT.

Hundreds of West Duluth homes were taken out in the process of explanding the highway from Thompson Hill to Mesaba Avenue.

So, when the expansion was planned to move past Mesaba, residents called for a change.

"There were a lot of people that were very much against the extension," said Campbell.

"I think the community got very actively engaged in how it was going to happen the rest of the way. How it was going to be planned, what the impacts were going to be, and what were the benefits going to be," explained Hamre.

"It might've been one of the first examples of true public involvement when it comes to freeway design," said Campbell.

In 1980, the citizens got a chance to weigh in and they voted to extend the highway to 26th Avenue East.

In 1984 the city council reversed that decision and decided to end the highway at 10th Avenue East.

However, the mayor at the time, John Fedo, vetoed that.

The city council came back and overrode his veto, so they were back at having the highway end at 10th Avenue East.

Then, the state legislature stepped in and decided to extend the highway to 26th Avenue East.

10th Avenue East was opened in 1989 and the entire highway extension was completed in 1992.

City officials believe the construction was positive for businesses.

One example is the Canal Park transformation.

"There was no tourism industry at all in canal park," said Campbell, "it was manufacturing and warehouses and commercial operations."

"We've become sort of a natural nexis to that tourism flow and that's been a positive from that standpoint," said Hamre.

The Minnesota Department of Transportaion has even won awards for the highway designs.

"The Leif Erikson Park and Rose Garden area was an award winner. I mean it's a beautiful park and most people can't imagine there's a freeway underneath," said Campbell.

It's a highway model rolling through the Northland Landscape.

"I feel it's one of the biggest things that happened in Duluth in terms of economic development, and allowing people access to the lake and really transforming how people appreciate what we have in Duluth," explained Campbell.

Money for the project was provided by the Federal Highway Administration.

In the original plans, I-35 was to extend to 68th Avenue East.

Some of the extra federal money was used to brick downtown Duluth streets and create the Lakewalk.

In all, the cost of construction from Thompson Hill to 26th Avenue East was $250 million.