Construction will be back underway this summer on the Gitchi-Gami State Trail to connect Beaver Bay and Silver Bay.

Upon completion, the trail will be an 89-mile, non-motorized recreational route between Two Harbors and Grand Marais. About 29 miles of the trail are completed.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has begun repairing the Beaver River Bridge in Beaver Bay to create a bike lane separated from traffic, according to a news release from the Gitchi-Gami Trail Association. Construction will then connect the trail to an intersection with West Road.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will oversee a project on the 2.3-mile portion of West Road that keeps the trail connected between Beaver Bay and Silver Bay. The project will include repavement and defining a separate bike lane on the road.

A completed section of trail beginning around Gooseberry Falls State Park will reach Silver Bay after this summer's construction, making it the longest finished trail segment, at 17.2 miles.

The state bonding bill Gov. Mark Dayton signed last month awarded $3.1 million to the DNR to construct trails in two Cook County locations. The project will begin next summer to connect Grand Marais and Cut Face Creek wayside with 5 miles of trail. The bonding bill also addresses the trail's one-mile gap through Tofte.