Digging deep

Iron County preps Saxon Harbor for more traffic

By Jennifer Pfaff

Iron County is in the midst of a $2 million project to double the harbor marina's capacity. Preliminary site plan courtesy of Iron County Forestry Department and Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc.

Rushing waterfalls, lush woodlands and Lake Superior’s shoreline highlight Iron County’s most precious resources.

It’s there that the county’s identity is forged and there where its economy thrives. Hunting, fishing and tourism are traditional draws, and as more people discover the area, development is forced to keep pace with the needs of residents and visitors.

“In our little county, which is at the end of Highway 51 and bumped up against Lake Superior, recreation is a significant part of the economy,” said Charlie Zinsmaster, Iron County forest administrator.

Each year, more day fishermen find the county’s Saxon Harbor, coming from as far away as Spooner. The area also continues to be popular with tourists and fishermen on longer trips. The Saxon Harbor campground also draws many to the area.

And with Saxon Harbor drawing so much attention, the county’s leaders have decided to double the harbor marina’s capacity. The majority of the $2 million project will be funded through grants from the Army Corps of Engineers, Wisconsin Coastal Management and Wisconsin Waterways.

“In a nutshell,” Zinsmaster said, “over the last 20 years, we’ve just had tremendous recreational boater pressure for season moorings, itinerant moorings and day use.”

The project deals with more than capacity. Saxon Harbor’s restrooms will be brought up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards, its shoreline will be protected from the erosive power of high winds and churning waters, and the road accessing the marina eventually will be removed and a new one constructed.

But the lion’s share of the work is the digging of a second basin in the harbor to allow 38 additional slips to be added. The 72,000 cubic yards of material expected to be dredged from the harbor will go to a nearby field.

“It’s going to be kind of a bear fight in this water,” said Ross Peterson of Hurley-based Ross Peterson Construction Co., the project’s general contractor. “We’re digging 8 feet below Lake Superior.”

The project will employ pumps buried beneath the lake’s bed to move water into the right spots to accomplish the expansion.

“I’ve never dug a harbor before,” Peterson said. “It’s really quite interesting.”

A team of subcontractors is coming together to make the project happen. That team includes Woodruff-based Howard Brothers Plumbing and Heating Inc., which will provide the dewatering expertise necessary to create a workable area in the harbor.

The team also includes Hurley-based Wayne Nasi Construction Inc., which started work on the restroom and shower facilities in late October. The two facilities, one 150 square feet and the other 440 square feet, will both feature masonry block construction with metal roofing and siding.

As the project progresses, floating docks will be installed — an improvement from the old system of anchoring the docks to pilings in the harbor— and the east day-use boat launch will be doubled in size.

“It is simply not big enough for some of these bigger boats we’re seeing today,” Zinsmaster said.

But the project would not be complete without safeguarding the shoreline for the future, Peterson said.

“Right now, they are losing some parking lot to the lake,” Peterson said. “We’re going to do some shoreline revetment. We’re going to use rip-rap or rock to save the shoreline.”

Eight feet of rock from an area quarry will be added along 400 feet of shoreline. The type selected is not susceptible to the pressures of freezing and thawing and can withstand wave action, he said.

In addition, berms will be built along the Oronto River to alleviate spring flooding concerns.

Although Peterson said coordinating the many facets of the project and the many contractors — nearly all local — is a nightmare, the end result will be worth the effort.

“I think it’s going to be beautiful,” he said.