Lake County highway department opens bidding for road work project

Lake County Highway Department has opened electronic bidding for a road work project that closes Aug. 6 at 10:00 a.m., as the county lines up more highway work in Two Harbors and across its road system. A separate county bid notice identifies SAP 038-627-005 as the 15th Street Resurfacing project in the City of Two Harbors, with bituminous mill and overlay work and an anticipated construction start date of Sept. 8, 2026.

The bidding deadline gives contractors a fixed window to compete for public work, and it also gives residents a clearer signal that more county transportation spending is moving forward. Lake County says its Highway Department’s mission is to provide a “continuously improving, safe, cost-effective and efficient road and bridge system” that supports residents, visitors and the area’s economic vitality.

County engineering staff handle the Capital Improvement Program, including the design, administration and inspection of road and bridge construction projects. Lake County says highway bid solicitations are available through Bid Express, and a bid notice says electronic bids are received through that system and opened at the Lake County Service Center, 616 3rd Avenue in Two Harbors.

The exact roadway or facility tied to the Aug. 6 bid notice is not spelled out in the public snippet, but the posting is still a clear marker that the county is advancing a formal procurement step before maintenance, reconstruction or another transportation project can begin. For Lake County drivers, that can eventually mean smoother pavement, safer travel corridors, and work that affects school bus routes, emergency access and North Shore traffic.

The county’s current construction calendar already shows other projects in motion. Lake County posted a road closure notice for New Tomahawk Road, also known as County Road 34, between MN Hwy 1 and Babbitt, beginning Tuesday, July 7 at 7:00 a.m. and ending Sept. 19, with the closure tied to rehabilitation of the bridge over Stony River. That closure, along with the 15th Street resurfacing project, points to a busy 2026 season for county infrastructure crews.

Taken together, the bid deadline, resurfacing notice and bridge closure show Lake County using a formal, public schedule to line up road and bridge work rather than relying on ad hoc contracting. The sequence also suggests the county is pushing multiple transportation projects through procurement, design and construction at the same time, with Two Harbors at the center of one of the clearest near-term investments.