McQuade Launch

[Nate McVey]

Just saw on the news that construction has stopped on the McQuade safe harbor and wont continue till spring and it wont open till July. That is 2 years behind schedule......what the heck is going on?

[BD110]

I wish I could answer your question. I saw the same report you must have. I could only think what a sad deal that is. I find it hard to believe that anyone envolved with this project will be able to come up with a reason that most would be able to except.

I'm not sure what else to say about the matter. It's just a sad deal plain and simple.

[Great Outdoors]

When the DNR had the boat landing on Shagawa Lake (near Ely) rebuilt last year, it was torn up for the entire summer.

The DNR takes the lowest bid (with stipulations), and was based on "when we have time to get to it" so the project sat idle for many days/weeks at a time.

If the McQuade bid was based on the same criteria as the Shagawa landing, it should be done by 2027.

[Northlander]

When I went to the meeting last year it was quite evident that there were to many hands in the pot and every hand pointed the finger at the other. As of this fall they were saying June. Now July?

Just too many groups that have parts of the project to get done and really nobody snapping the whip to get it done. I do know that the locals who supported it and have seen this through from day 1 are not happy campers at all.

Hopefully we will be launching out of there by 09.

[Surface Tension]

Snags delay debut of McQuade harbor

Janna Goerdt Duluth News Tribune

Published Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Boaters along the North Shore are going to have to wait even longer before they can use the new McQuade public access and safe harbor north of Duluth.

Work on the project was halted this spring while work contracts between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were settled, said Larry Killien, the harbor program coordinator for the DNR’s trails and waterways division.

Even so, the DNR had plans for a grand opening of the harbor in September. That deadline came and went, the work still wasn’t finished, and late last week contractors closed up the project for the winter, Killien said.

“There’s a couple of months of work left to do in the spring,” Killien said on Tuesday. “We’re planning a grand opening sometime in July.”

That’s about two years behind schedule. When contractors began piling up huge boulders and stones to start building the breakwalls in 2004, they expected the harbor and public access to be completed by the summer of 2006.

The DNR has received a number of complaints about the delay, Killien said, and anxious boaters have continued to use the still-under-

construction harbor despite attempts by contractors and other agencies to discourage them.

The entrance to the safe harbor parking lot off Scenic Highway 61 was partially blocked by barricades on Tuesday. Piles of rebar and lumber lay along the lakeshore near a partially completed walkway.

Much of the construction work on the harbor, which features a sidewalk atop the 825-foot-long east breakwater, was completed in the summer of 2006; enough to make the harbor look usable, at least. Things like lampposts, handrails and landscaping have been lacking.

This year, contractors from Northland Constructors in Duluth had to extend water and sewer lines by about a third of a mile to the site, Killien said. In the spring, contractors will finish building the public restrooms, the third and final boat ramp, finish the pathway along the lakeshore, and complete a number of other finishing details, Killien said.

The first phase of the project cost about $8 million and was begun after more than a decade of controversy. The project is a joint venture between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Duluth and St. Louis County.

[ripstick]

I wonder where a third ramp is going to go?

[Northlander]

All the ramps will be where the other 2 were. Just to the east of them 2 will be the 3rd. West ramp is best for little boats and let the big boys use the ones to the east. Not much room on thatwest side.

Its going to be nice when finally done but man what a mess its turned out to be.

[Steve Foss]

Contractors had set up a warm-tent and were working on what looked like putting up a small building there when I drove through on Wednesday afternoon. Could have been a different project, I guess, but it looked like it was right smack in the middle of the access area above the highway.

[Down Deep]

Who is supposed to maintain the restrooms and the grounds around the ramp and breakwater? I think that originally the City of Duluth was supposed to do it, but I remember hearing somewhere that that agreement was either off or there were some problems with it. That may have something to do with the delay.

[Surface Tension]

Before I get on the soap box I'll thank all parties involved for getting the Harbor started and to its day of completion. I hope they've learned a few things so we don't go through this again.

We can hope all parties involved get the final "snags" figured out this winter so when it comes time to get back to work this Spring theres not more "RED TAPE" and delays. I also hope this project be a top priority and doesn't sit with nothing being done,,, again.

Sadly, I'm expecting it to be business as usual and foresee more set backs. The biggest of my gripes is not letting the public know what the HE-double hockey sticks was/is the hold up from day one. Too many cooks in the kitchen! When it is finished our DNR and Army Corps of Engineers will be so proud of themselves. I'll be there for the ribbon cutting ceremony. I propose RED TAPE be used in place of the customary yellow ribbon. I also propose that the prop of "Pig Pen" take honors in the name of all Sportsmen that have waited and waited for that day and shred that Red Tape as I back down the ramp.

Just Do It. already!