Woodland Road opposed

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ISHPEMING - Concerns about the planned Kennecott Eagle Project and the proposed Woodland Road that would connect the mine to a renovated Humboldt Mill were voiced at a Marquette County Road Commission public hearing Monday night.

No action was taken on the plan submitted by Woodland Road LLC, which would make improvements to a little more than 3 miles of public roadway along the 22-mile project. The next road commission meeting is scheduled for Oct. 19.

"From the road commission standpoint, this is a developer dealing with improving a county road and we're treating them just as any other developer, whether it is a guy building a house at the end of a road or a Target going in or some manufacturer going in, that's the way the road commission is dealing with the issue," said James Iwanicki, the commission's engineer-manager.

Although many in the 20-person audience spoke against the proposed mine itself and voiced concerns over the entire road project, Iwanicki said the road commission only has jurisdiction over the public road portion of the project. The project runs south from the Triple A Road in Champion Township to U.S. 41, intersecting about a mile east of the M-95 intersection.

Questions were raised over who would have the right of way, road construction and maintenance and what would happen after the road is no longer used for the mining operation.

"I think there's all kinds of concerns going forward," said Cynthia Pryor of Big Bay. "Who's going to plow it? When/if Kennecott even goes there and then they leave, who's going to continue to take that over? What's going to happen to the maintenance of this roadway? ... I think there's a lot of questions out there."

Woodland Road LLC will be financing the $50 million project, adding about $2 million worth of improvements to the public road portions.

At intersections with the public roads, Iwanicki said the private road would likely get the right of way due to the higher volume of traffic.

"I believe because of the volumes of traffic of what's going to be out there, I think the private road is going to have the right of way most of the time," he said.

The road commission would continue to provide winter plowing and other maintenance of public portions of the road. Woodland Road LLC would be responsible for all private portions of the road. Control, ownership and liability of the road would remain with the private owners, both while it is being used for industry and after.

Iwanicki said he would be recommending that no road commission money be spent on the road improvements and the new road would bring no extra money to the commission.

"We've done an extensive safety study of the road," Ken Wooley, a Kennecott employee who is chief operating officer for Woodland Road LLC, said this morning. "(The road) is primarily done to come up with a safer road that reduces exposure risks.

"The road is not tied to the mine. This is truly a multi-use road."

In addition to Kennecott, partners in the road include A. Lindberg and Sons, Michigan Forest Products Council and private landowner John Jilbert.

Wooley said that the current intention is for the road to remain open to the public for easier access to the Yellow Dog Plains area, and will also be used by other industries, such as logging. The road would also benefit mine employees, providing a more direct route to the site.

The road is also projected to save more than a million miles of mine traffic over alternative routes along county roads 550 and 510.

For some audience members, the connection between the proposed mine and road outweighed all other concerns.

"If the road is open to the public, it's going to make it easier for me to get up to the Yellow Dog Plains, but I don't know if I'm going to want to go up there any more because much of the appeal in this area is its feeling of remoteness and with this very large, wide road in there, much of that is going to get destroyed," said William Malmsten, vice president of the U.P. Environmental Coalition. "Traveling an industrial highway with a steady stream of huge mining trucks to arrive at a toxic waste zone is not my idea of a fun Sunday afternoon drive."

Others asked the commission to wait on its decision until all the permits required for the mine are secured by Kennecott.

"What's the rush?" asked Jon Saari of Marquette. "I would urge you to wait because that's something that's within your power."