IMMEDIATE RELEASE             September 23, 2005

NOTE TO EDITORS, INTERESTED PARTIES:  A Helberg Drive groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on October 5 at a site adjacent to the Duluth Seaway Port Authority administration building, 1200 Port Terminal Drive.  The ceremony will include an address by former Port Director Davis Helberg, Port Director Adolph Ojard, Port Authority Board of Commissioners President Bill Kron and Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson.

Duluth, Minn., U.S.A.—The Duluth Seaway Port Authority invites members of the community to join Port and City dignitaries at a groundbreaking ceremony for Helberg Drive, a $5.2 million road construction project being dedicated to Davis Helberg, former Duluth Port director and one of the nation’s leading advocates for the Great Lakes maritime industry.

Northland Constructors, Duluth, was awarded the construction contract for the nearly one-mile project by the City in September.  Helberg Drive will be located on Duluth’s Rice’s Point, providing improved road and railroad access to Port facilities.

Helberg Drive will stretch from approximately 800 feet northwest of the intersection of Garfield Avenue and Birch Avenue to Port Terminal Drive, about 4,000 feet to the southeast. The road construction will consist of a paved bituminous surface with two 12-foot driving lanes and eight-foot shoulders.

Railroad improvements were necessary to facilitate the construction of Helberg Drive, and will include upgrading rail and switching operations to provide better access to existing and future industries.  Rail service will be improved by consolidating rail operations where possible while maintaining existing shared operations in the Port area between the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Canadian Pacific (CP) Railways.

Helberg Drive will also provide an alternative route for high-wide, heavy-haul cargoes moving through the Port.  Lake Superior Warehousing Co., Inc., operator of the Clure Public Marine Terminal, has established a reputation worldwide for handling oversized project cargoes such as tar sands removal equipment and wind energy components.

The State Transportation Improvement Project has programmed $3,750,000 for this project in fiscal year 2005.  Local funds will provide the remaining money required for this project and will be provided by the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and the City of Duluth.

Helberg began his career as a Great Lakes deckhand in 1958 and worked as a vessel agent, newspaper reporter, Port public relations director, pilotage manager and stevedoring company president prior to becoming Port director in January 1979.  After 24 years as executive director, Helberg continues to serve on numerous regional and national maritime committees and organizations. 

Northland Constructors plans to begin the construction project in October of this year and have it completed by the fall of 2006.

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CONTACT:  Andy McDonough, Industrial and Economic Development Director, phone 218-727-8525

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