Final Solution for a Long and Difficult Issue

Final Solution for a Long and Difficult Issue. Alger County Road H-58. , When Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1966 as America’s first national lakeshore, the enabling legislation called for the construction of a “scenic shoreline drive” as part of the park’s development. However, the legislation did not specify exactly where that road should be and due to other national priorities, including funding the Vietnam War effort, funds were never appropriated to actually design and build the road. , This delay led to tremendous frustration on the part of local individuals and units of government, many of whom felt they had been misled into supporting the establishment of the park. However, as local pressure increased to fund the project, opposition to building a road through undeveloped portions of the park also increased, leading to many years of controversy. Over the years, several alternative locations were considered for the road. But, in 1998, to protect the most pristine portions of the park, Congress amended the park’s enabling legislation to actually prohibit the National Park Service from constructing a road through the main portion of the park, forcing a compromise solution. , That compromise, ultimately endorsed by the National Park Service and the Alger County Road Commission, called for the reconstruction and paving of an existing sand and gravel road, Alger County H-58, the road you are traveling on today. Using a combination of federal and state funds between 1990 and 2010, H-58 was re-designed and paved to provide improved access to and through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and connect the two gateway communities of Munising and Grand Marais. , In the end, the Alger County Road Commission and the National Park Service worked very closely to design and build a roadway that would provide an outstanding scenic experience worthy of a national park, it is also noteworthy that in 2009, as the road project was coming to an end, Congress also provided permanent legal protection to the central portion of the park by establishing the Beaver Basin Wilderness. It took over 40 years, but with these two actions, the controversy involving how best to balance road access and protection of nationally significant resources at Pictured Rocks had finally come to an end. , (sidebar) , Local Leadership. Over the years, many Alger County residents continued to advocate for a road that would provide better access to the National Lakeshore. These included Connie Berube Binsfeld, who later became Lt. Governor of Michigan and a member of the National Park Advisory Board; Doug Miron and Paul Heyman, Chair and Vice-Chair of the Alger County Road Commission; Dennis “Fuzzy” Boyak, President and CEO of Peoples State Bank of Munising; Rochelle Cotey, Director of ALTRAN, the local transportation authority; and Richard and Chuck Nebel, a local banker and attorney at law. Munising native Mike Pond, a professional civil engineer, was involved in the design of virtually every detail of the road. Now that the road is complete, they have, along with others, left a lasting legacy for Alger County and the visitors to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.