Beltrami County to close Birchmont Beach Road NE for utility work

Beltrami County closed Birchmont Beach Road NE to through traffic June 25 for utility work on County State Aid Highway 20 between CSAH 21, or Bemidji Road NE, and Country Club Road NE. The shutdown will run through July 2026, with a signed detour in place.

The road is closed to all through traffic, but people who live or do business along the corridor, or who can reach their property only by using CSAH 20, will still have access. Drivers are being directed to follow the posted detour carefully and use extra caution through the construction zone. Questions or concerns go to the Beltrami County Highway Department.

The closure is part of a longer reconstruction effort on CSAH 20. County leaders held an informational meeting July 12, 2024, at Northern Town Hall to discuss reconstruction of CSAH 20 from Bemidji Ave to the entrance of Lake Bemidji State Park, and the work will be coordinated with Northern Township and its sanitary sewer project.

Beltrami County’s 2026 Transportation Improvement Plan lists the CSAH 20 project, from CSAH 21 to CR 414, at an estimated total cost of $3.35 million. The county’s funding breakdown puts $350,000 in federal funds, $1.875 million in state-aid funds and $1.125 million in county funds. Its road system includes 464 miles of CSAH roads and 251 miles of county roads.

A county project map labels the work as the CSAH 20 Reconstruction Project and places it along the Birchmont Beach Road NE corridor near Bass Lake Road NE, Power Dam Road NE and CR 414. Birchmont Beach Road NE is not functioning as a pass-through road, and the corridor will remain an active work zone until the project is completed.