Mesabi Trail Extensions and Trailhead Building

Locations: Chisholm, Marble, Keewatin, Nashwauk, Tower, Grand Rapids, Eveleth and McKinley, MN

Client: St. Louis & Lake Counties Regional Rail Authority

Services: Geotechnical evaluation, construction materials testing

Year: 2005-2010

When completed, the former railway-turned-Mesabi Trail will be a 132-mile paved bike trail that travels from Grand Rapids to Ely, with connections to 25 communities along its route. To date, 115 miles of trail are completed, and when finished, the Mesabi Trail will be one of the longest-paved trails in the United States.

We have provided geotechnical evaluations and construction materials testing for various trail extensions and for the construction of trailhead buildings in Grand Rapids and Eveleth. Most recently, we helped develop eight miles of trail by providing materials testing for the trail’s subgrade and aggregate base sections. We also performed concrete batch plant inspections and testing.

The concrete structures included a bridge crossing near Giants Ridge and numerous slabs on grades along the trail where informational kiosks and rest rooms were placed. The majority of the trail sections are paved with bituminous, and our certified personnel performed bituminous plant monitoring inspections while our materials laboratory processed all of the field samples.