1998 Excellence in Highway Design Category 9 - Highway Improvements on Publicly Owned Land Merit Award
Ash River Visitors Center Road
Voyageurs National Park, International Falls, Minnesota
Designer: Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division, FHWA
Contractors: Hoover Construction Company, Virginia, Minnesota
The old, narrow dirt road to the visitor's center and boat ramp was very dangerous and often impassable due to inclement weather. The project was designed to provide a modern scenic road, adequate passing areas, vista pull off, and year round access to Kabtegoma Lake for boating and snowmobiling. An example of innovative engineering was the use of a series of pipes and granular material that permitted a free exchange of water under the roadway from both sides of a wetland.