Road Commission Asks For Patience As Recovery Work Continues

Reconstruction efforts in Houghton County continue as officials organize relief efforts and communities band together.

A press conference was held Tuesday where many expressed concerns, asked questions, and learned more about what to do next.

In most areas, water is again safe to drink.  However, Beaches throughout the county remain closed due to a few sewage overflows.  Fifty residents in the Torch Lake area still under a boil water advisory and officials also recommend not fishing until further notice.

While assessments are still underway, it’s believed that there could be more damage that remains undiscovered.

Houghton County Road Commission Engineer Kevin Harju said, “We would just encourage safety and patience. We’re trying to work as quick as we can, trying to make sure there’s at least one access way for all the residents. Currently, there are still a few residents that are stranded and we’re working on those actively today and tomorrow and until we can get a road system to them, just be patient with us and hopefully we can get everything fixed.”

Currently, there are over 100 damaged road sites throughout the county.  Harju says that, due to the amount of damage, some of them may not be repaired until next year.

“Now that everything is settling out and the waters are receding, the sun comes back out and heats up the black top and then all of the sudden we have another sink hole in the road. We’re seeing those pop up all over in the damaged areas.  It will be probably months before we find everything that’s damaged,” Harju said.

US-41 is now open, but down to one lane in some places. M-26 is also now open north of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, but is open only to local traffic north of Dollar Bay.

As road crews continue repairs, two official relief funds have been organized.

“This this a strong community, but we know that there’s going to be a lot of expenses incurred from this, especially for our citizens. Everything matters, every donation matters and we’re going to do our best to make sure that 100 percent of every dollar that comes in to the Portage Health Foundation, every penny that comes in to us is going to go back to support this community,” said Keven Store of the Portage Health Foundation.  A simultaneous fund has been organized by the Keweenaw Community Foundation.

“People need to know that our community needs as much help as possible. The Keweenaw Community Foundation has set up a flood relief fund that you can contribute to by 906-482-9673,” said KCF Executive Director Jim Vivian.

The Portage Health Foundation has established a fund for storm relief. Read about it, and find out how to contribute to it, here.

The Keweenaw Community Foundation has also established a fund for storm relief. Contribute through their GoFundMe site here.

Meanwhile, a tip line has been created and folks are asked to dial 211 if they discover something of concern such as broken gas lines, downed power lines, and road damage that is not yet marked.