Ice road on large northern Minnesota lake opens for 2nd year

WARROAD, Minn. (AP) — A 37-mile ice highway in Minnesota that takes motorists across the mammoth Lake of the Woods to the northernmost point in the contiguous United States is open for the second straight year.

The toll is $250 per vehicle. The road costs an estimated $1,500 per mile for plowing and other upkeep.

It begins in Warroad and ends at the Northwest Angle resort community, which is known for its ice fishing.

The highway allows people to bypass a drive into Canada or get there in a vehicle rather than a plane or snowmobile.

Minnesota Public Radio News reports that the ice road was first created last winter when the Canadian border was closed to nonessential travel from the U.S. amid the COVID-19 pandemic.