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The state is working to keep the main entrance road to Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park from washing into Lake Superior.
High water levels and violent fall storms are threatening the 107th Engineers Memorial Highway, which runs from Silver City to the Union Bay Campground, the ski hill, and the Lake of the Clouds overlook.
That’s actually an Ontonagon County Road. John Pepin of the DNR said the organization doesn’t typically work on county roads, but a washout would severely limit public access to the park. There are no convenient alternate routes.
In August, state and Ontonagon County crews began setting boulders in place along the shoreline. Pepin said the areas where work had been completed suffered much less damage from November’s storms than other areas. Some unprotected stretches experienced erosion up to the edge of the pavement.
Work will continue as long as weather allows.
A recent request by Ontonagon County for 12-million dollars in federal money to move the road away from the shore was rejected.
