A new Highway 53 bridge near Virginia and a new Highway 135 bridge connecting the East Range to Virginia will feature several unique Iron Range visual qualities.

Highway 53, a major transportation corridor, is being rerouted near Virginia so United Taconite can begin mining under the current highway.

The 1,100-foot long Highway 53 bridge, proposed to enter near the east side of Virginia, will be the tallest bridge in the state, said Melissa Schultz, Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) bridge architectural designer.

Schultz addressed visual qualities of the Highway 53 and 135 bridges Tuesday at a Laurentian Vision Partnership quarterly meeting at IRRRB's Mining and Reclamation Building in Chisholm.

A 15-member Highway 53 Relocation Visual Quality Review Committee has met five times to discuss and produce visual quality guidelines for the project, said Schultz.

The most prominent features of the Highway 53 bridge will be plaza areas constructed at each end of the bridge and deep, 40-foot rock cuts on the approach from Eveleth, said Schultz. Pier shapes, bridge abutment surfaces, sloping, rock cuts, and other visual feature of the bridges, are also being addressed by the review committee, she said.

The committee is reviewing potential sites to relocate Mineview in the Sky, a popular tourist attraction and overlook currently located along Highway 53 in Virginia. MnDOT is not funding relocation of the mine view, she said.

A new Highway 135 bridge, connecting Gilbert and Virginia, will be the most visible of the two bridges to motorists, said Schultz.

The Highway 135 bridge will feature a reddish-brown color that will blend in with the Iron Range landscape and large steel plates with the image of a tree on the plates, she said. Local stone will also be used in as part of the landscaping.

A Minnesota Department of Transportation "Coffee and Conversation" meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., Thursday, June 4 at the MnDOT Virginia Office, 101 Hoover Road in Virginia. "Coffee and Conversation" meetings provide updates on the project on the first Thursday of each month.

Another Iron Range highway is also being rerouted.

Near Chisholm, plans are underway to re-route County State Aid Highway 5 to make way for mining at Hibbing Taconite.

County Highway 5 will be rerouted along County Road 136, entering Chisholm near the Ironman statue, said Brian Boder, St. Louis County assistant highway engineer.

Designs for the new route are expected to begin in about two weeks, said Boder.

The re-routing is to be completed by January 1, 2017.

The City of Chisholm addressed the need to reroute County Highway 5 in the city's 2012 comprehensive plan.

The Laurentian Vision Partnership is a regional coalition that promotes the development of productive post-mining landscapes on the Mesabi Iron Range by cooperating in preserving lands necessary to sustain current and future mining, promoting landscape options for post mining uses, and identifying and discussing new development opportunities.

For additional information on LVP visit www.lvpmn.org.

Pictured above: Speaking about the Highway 53 Relocation Visual Quality topics is Melissa Schultz, Minnesota Department of Transportation bridge architectural designer.