2026 will be an important year for road construction in this area with a major state project on Highway 6 causing a five-month detour.

Bridge No. 31036 over the Big Fork River (where County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 14 joins Highway 6) will be completely replaced with a detour running from June to November, according to Margie Nelson of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The detour shown on the map at right for northbound travelers begins at Talmoon and travels on TH 286  through Marcell and Bigfork before returning to Highway 6 along CSAH 14.

Currently the bridge is weight restricted and operates as a single lane.  There will be some tree clearing in March for the project. The cost of the project is estimated at $4 million.

Itasca County also has several projects planned for northwest Itasca County. A little over a mile of the Turtle Lake Rd. (CSAH 43) from Highway 38 to the Jaynes School Rd. will receive a bituminous overlay, as will CSAH 43 and 19 running between highways 38 and 1 near Effie. The estimated cost is about $1.2 million for the projects.