Lake County closes Lax Lake Road for utility replacement work
Lax Lake Road will shut down July 6-10 between Airport Road and Forest Highway 11, forcing Silver Bay traffic onto MN 61 and Outer Drive/Penn Blvd.
Drivers who use Lax Lake Road between Airport Road and Forest Highway 11 will face a full closure from July 6 through July 10, with no traffic allowed through the corridor while utility work is completed. Lake County said the shutdown was needed for Cliffs Northshore Mining to finish a permitted utility replacement project across the roadway.
The detour will push traffic onto MN 61 and Outer Drive, also marked as Penn Blvd and Forest Highway 11, through Silver Bay. That makes the closure more than a back-road inconvenience for people living near Lax Lake or moving between Beaver Bay and Silver Bay. It will also affect commuters, delivery routes, appointments and summer recreation trips that normally depend on Lax Lake Road as a local connector.
Lake County’s notice landed on June 24, giving residents less than two weeks to adjust before the closure starts. Because the work will cut off all traffic between CSAH 3 and CSAH 5, drivers heading toward industrial sites, forest access points or lakeshore destinations will need to plan around the detour rather than try to work through the closure at the last minute.
The county said the project was permitted, which points to an organized utility replacement rather than an emergency repair. That matters for the North Shore road network, where planned work is often timed for the summer construction season, when road crews can coordinate around heavier outdoor travel and better conditions for excavation and restoration. Lake County Highway Department also maintains a construction projects page and a public notice system, and its late-June postings show several roadway notices active at once.
Lax Lake Road has a wider place in local travel than its rural setting suggests. It is part of the Superior National Forest Scenic Byway corridor leading into Silver Bay, and local reference points place Lax Lake north of Beaver Bay and Silver Bay along the same road. That means the closure will be felt not only by nearby households and businesses, but by anyone using the route as a link between the North Shore towns, forest lands and the inland road system.
For people who rely on the road, the practical step is simple: plan alternate travel before July 6 and expect the closure to remain in force through July 10.
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