Cemetery site status

Pedestrians and bicyclists are not permitted in the closed lanes or fenced areas. Please be respectful of the cemetery and use alternate routes.
In mid-May 2017, the Minnesota Department of Transportation began work on a project to replace the highway 23 Bridge over Mission Creek to allow for a larger waterway. Due to the inadvertent disturbance of a Native American burial site in June 2017, the Mission Creek Bridge Replacement project was placed on hold.
In collaboration with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, and the Office of the State Archeologist, MnDOT has since worked to help respectfully complete burial recovery and restore the cemetery site. In early October 2019, it was announced that the burial recovery process had been completed and processed soils could begin being returned to the cemetery. In November 2019, processed soils were returned and the central cemetery slope was stabilized.
MnDOT has contracted with landscape architect Urban Ecosystems to develop a final design for restoring the historic cemetery site. Restoration efforts will begin in the spring of 2021.
Bridge Project
The project development process to address the Mission Creek Bridge is ongoing.
Traffic impacts
Traffic is restricted to two-lane, two-way sharing on the eastbound side of Hwy 23 and will stay in this configuration until restoration efforts have been completed. A dynamic warning sign is in place and the speed limit has been reduced to 30 mph.
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