St. Louis County Public Works the U.S. DOT Federal Highway Administration's "National Build a Better Mousetrap - SMART Transformation Award” for a new camera and data gathering system. The system enables Public Works supervisors to monitor  road conditions remotely from a computer or smart phone and make better decisions faster about the response needed. The award celebrates innovative solutions to transportation problems in local and tribal government regions.

St. Louis County partners with Minnesota North College - Hibbing to offer skilled apprenticeship program for heavy equipment mechanics

As early as this fall, students in the Diesel Mechanics/Heavy Equipment program at Minnesota North College - Hibbing will have an opportunity to apply for a skilled apprenticeship position with St. Louis County Public Works. This new apprenticeship program will provide valuable real-life experience for students while also helping develop an internal pool of future Heavy Equipment Mechanics for the County.

St. Louis County Public Works crews are making improvements to Beatty Road in Beatty Township north of Cook that is resulting in temporary closures of the road. The project began in July and is expected to continue until mid-September. 

Rice Lake Road in Duluth will be closed to through traffic between Central Entrance and Arrowhead Road beginning Monday, August 7. The closure is necessary for the replacement of a culvert on Chester Creek. The closure and detour is expected to last through August 20. Detour signs will be posted directing people to use Arrowhead Road, Arlington Avenue and Central Entrance for the duration of the project.

Construction of a new bridge crossing the Whiteface River near Meadowlands is complete and County State Aid Highway 133 is now open again. The previous bridge was nearly 60 years old and had a poor rating. Replacing it now prevented the need for load restrictions on this highly traveled road.