Beltrami County plans June trail construction on Division Street West

Beltrami County is set to break ground on a new shared-use trail along Division Street West, a project that will give students, pedestrians and cyclists a safer separated route past Bemidji High School and farther west toward CSAH 14. The county says the road will stay open during construction, but drivers should expect partial lane closures, shoulder closures and possible delays in the work zone.

Construction is proposed to start Monday, June 8, along CSAH 7, Division Street West. The trail will run on the south side of the road from Bemidji High School to CSAH 11, Adams Avenue NW, then cross to the north side and continue to CSAH 14, Division Street West. Beltrami County says the work is expected to be finished by Sept. 4.

The project, identified as SAP 004-607-026, is the next step in the county’s push to extend trail access along the corridor. It follows a 2025 effort that added trail from the Jefferson Avenue SW roundabout to the Bemidji High School entrance. County officials have also tied the broader corridor buildout to a $770,000 Minnesota Safe Routes to School grant that will help cover the cost of a multi-use trail between the Bemidji High School entrance and the Gene Dillon School entrance.

That school connection is central to the project’s purpose. A Stonebrooke Engineering corridor study found that the CSAH 7 and Division Street corridor runs from CSAH 14 to CSAH 11 South, with Bemidji High School in the middle of the route. That makes the trail more than a recreation add-on. It is a transportation upgrade for a stretch that already carries school traffic, neighborhood traffic and regular cross-town movement on Bemidji’s west side.

The bid posting for the work gives a clear sense of the scale. It lists 2,801 cubic yards of common excavation, 6,496 cubic yards of common embankment, 2,100 tons of Class 5 aggregate base, 932 tons of bituminous wear course mixture and 3,139 square feet of 6-inch concrete walk. For nearby residents and businesses along Division Street West, that means a summer of active construction, shifting traffic patterns and frequent work-zone caution as crews build out the trail section by section.