By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
Houston County is known for its majestic bluffs and steep valleys. There is probably no county in the Land of 10,000 Lakes that has as many ups and downs in its topography as Houston County. And these drastic changes in the topography make for many miles of dangerous roads with hairpin curves, and potentially lethal drop-offs.
The two major rain events, which prompted the federal government to declare Houston County a federal disaster not once, but twice in a 10-month period, destroyed many miles of township and county roadways, causing tens of millions of dollars in damage in 2007 and 2008. In some cases, entire sections of roadway disappeared, as torrential rains and floodwaters pulled thousands of tons of trees, brush, rocks, gravel, and asphalt from hillsides and deposited them in valleys far below.
Beaver Ridge Drive, a township road just south of Beaver Creek Valley State Park in Caledonia Township is one such road. A large section of the road, and the trees and brush that helped protect motorists from dropping nearly 100 feet into Beaver Creek valley, was pulled to the valley below during the June 2008 rain event.
“We really weren’t sure if we should rebuild the road, or just close it at my driveway,” Caledonia Township Supervisor Kermit McRae said last week. “We lost a large portion of the hill and the road. There are a number of farmers who work the land up above and also down below. It would have been a major inconvenience if we closed the road up around the corner,” he said, looking up past the hairpin corner on Beaver Ridge Drive.
“We decided to keep it open, but then what?” McRae continued. “This was a major project for a township to undertake. We looked at cutting more of the sidehill out above the roadway, (which would have moved the road farther from the drop-off.) But after meeting with engineers from FEMA and Houston County, we decided to clear the remaining vegetation from the sidehill below, and build it back up with rock.”
The project cost the township approximately $300,000 and was completed earlier this fall. With all the trees, brush and other vegetation now removed from the hillside below, the hairpin curve, which is located about a quarter of the way down a very steep hill, seems much more open, and menacing. Persons living in the area, who use the road on a regular basis, have expressed concern over the recently-completed project.
“This was a dangerous curve before. But now, without the trees and underbrush that acted like a natural guardrail, it is so much more dangerous,” Ron Moen said. “In the 17 years that we have lived here, there have been five vehicles that have gone off the road on the curve. Luckily, they all got hung up in the trees. But the trees are all gone, and it’s more than a 100-foot drop to the valley below.”
Moen expressed his concerns to the Caledonia Town Board, and asked if some type of guardrail could be placed around the corner. The town board listened to Moen’s concerns, but felt the safety precautions with additional signs (which include oversized reflective chevron signs, sharp curve, and steep hill signs) are sufficient.
“It’s not that we don’t appreciate Ron’s concerns, but Houston County is full of dangerous township roads, with sharp curves, and very deep drop-offs,” McRae said. “There are over 450 miles of township roads in the county, and there isn’t a guardrail on any of those 450 miles.”
McRae, who spent his entire working career with MN/DOT, said it isn’t just that the township would be setting a precedent by installing a guardrail on Beaver Ridge Drive. He believes with the additional signs, the steep hill with the hairpin curve is safer now.
“There were four or five accidents, where vehicles didn’t make the corner, and got caught up in the trees below,” McRae noted. “But about 12 years ago, the township put in a series of large chevron signs that really mark the curve. They are big, and really get your attention. Since they were installed, there hasn’t been a single vehicle miss that curve.”
Moen noted the curve is treacherous enough during the warmer months, but during the winter, when the roadway is snow-packed for the majority of the time, it produces even more white-knuckle driving experiences.
“The road is shaded, because of the trees and the cliff above it, for the entire winter,” Moen said. “It was dangerous enough in the winter before, but now, without those trees to catch someone, it’s going to be so much worse.”
It appears as if, at least for now, the safety features on the hairpin curve on Beaver Ridge Drive will not include a guardrail. Mother Nature’s stripping of the trees has produced a panoramic view of Beaver Creek valley. But she has also taken away the nature safety net, which used to soothe many Caledonia Township drivers’ nerves.
You can contact Charlie Warner at
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