Death on ‘169’ renews renovation push

In the wake of a fatal collision on Highway 169, local officials are stepping up efforts to secure funding to improve the roadway.City officials and members of the 169 Task Force may launch a letter-writing campaign to state and federal leaders. They hope to convince them to fund safety improvements on the portion of the highway between Ely and Soudan.“I think if we push the right people we can make this happen,” said Ely Mayor and 169 Task Force member Roger Skraba. “I will do whatever I can to make this road safe.”A several-year push to improve 169 only figures to intensify following a Jan. 28 incident that claimed the life of 40-year-old Heather Tweit of Ely.Tweit was killed in a two-vehicle head-on collision between mile markers 270 and 271, north of SoudanAccording to an incident report released by the Minnesota State Patrol, a 1996 Mazda 626 driven by Tweit’s husband, 47-year-old Dale Tweit, lost control coming around a corner and slid into a northbound traffic lane, where the vehicle collided with a 1991 Ford pickup driven by 54-year-old Charles Renner of Ely.Tweit was pronounced dead at the scene and five others suffered injuries.Renner, who was driving alone, was transported to St. Mary’s in Duluth.Dale Tweit was taken to Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital and 16-year-old Anna Osborne was taken by ground transportation to St. Mary’s.Elizabeth Tweit, 4, and Jordan Champa, 12, children of Heather Tweit, were taken to the Ely hospital and admitted for observation.Everyone but Champa was wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision, and authorities said alcohol was not a factor.But Ely leaders contend that the condition of the highway played a role in the incident. Several years ago, the task force recommended a string of safety improvements between Ely and Soudan, including the construction of passing and turn lanes, widening of shoulders, and eventually a complete reconstruction.Task force members also complained about the dangers of black ice, road shading and inadequate shoulder widths.The conditions at the time of the Jan. 28 collision were icy, and while there’s no guarantee that improvements could have prevented the incident, area leaders say it’s time to act.“We said it was going to happen, we knew it was going to happen, but it doesn’t make it any easier,” said Skraba. City council members expressed their condolences during the debate and several supported Skraba’s push for a full-scale letter-writing campaign.“Maybe we should remind the (Minnesota Department of Transportation) how many people we’ve lost on that road,” said council member Mike Hillman. “Maybe that’s a statistic they should use in their facts and figures when they decide to do a road.”In mid-December, MnDOT officials said only an influx of federal monies would speed up plans to improve the section of 169 between Ely and Soudan.The only major work scheduled for that section of the highway is the construction of several passing lanes, a $5.5 million project scheduled between 2015 and 2023.“That’s unacceptable,” said Skraba.A proposed $28 million reconstruction of 169 between Ely and Soudan isn’t included in the list of projects advanced by the MnDOT.Denny Johnson, MnDOT’s northeast district planning director, told task force members that the state sets its highway priorities with roadways with the highest traffic counts and most glaring safety needs getting at the top of the list.Between 2008 and 2030, the state will spend about $64 million per year - or $1.46 billion - to preserve and maintain highways in a district that includes the Iron Range, Duluth, the North Shore and extends south to Hinckley. That’s not nearly enough to meet the area’s highway needs, according to Johnson.On 169, the road between Tower and the Highway 53 near Virginia has much higher use than the section between Ely and Soudan, and the state has set aside more than $20 million for reconstruction to take place between 2008 and 2023.A $16.5 million reconstruction is set between 53 and the cutoff to Highway 1, near the former “Y” Store outside of Tower, and another $3.9 million in improvements are scheduled between that intersection and Tower.Johnson said that the only way improvements between Ely and Soudan could leapfrog past other projects on the priority list is if federal transportation legislation sets aside funding - and requires that the work be done in a specific location.U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar is carrying legislation that could free up over $14 million in federal monies for 169, but to date, the bill does not contain language mandating where the money is used.