Traffic Advisory – Grandma’s Marathon Weekend

There is a lot happening around Duluth and the North Shore on Grandma’s Marathon Weekend. Runners, residents and visitors should take extra care when driving through town, and pay attention to detour routes and closures.

On Friday, for the William A. Irvin 5K, the race begins at 6:00 p.m. on Harbor Drive behind the DECC. Harbor Drive will close to traffic at 4:00 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., portions of Railroad Street will close to traffic for the duration of the race.

Duluth Police ask motorists to obey temporary “No Parking” areas on Railroad Street, Lake Place Drive, and Harbor Drive. Violators will be ticketed and towed.

Expect traffic delays starting at 5:30 p.m. for approximately one hour as portions of Railroad Street close from Lake Avenue to 5th Avenue West. Southbound traffic on 5th Avenue West will be able to access the DECC parking lot on Railroad Street throughout the race. Harbor Drive behind the DECC will also be closed to traffic.

The Aquarium parking lot will not be accessible from 5:30pm until approximately 7:15 p.m.

Access to the DECC during the race will be through the North Gate (on Railroad Street) or the East Gate (on Harbor Drive), from Lake Avenue or 5th Avenue West. Outbound traffic from the DECC will only be from the West Gate (5th Avenue West) from 5:00-7:30pm.

Vehicles on northbound I-35 exiting on the 5th Avenue West off-ramp can either continue straight to Lake Avenue to access the DECC Lot or turn right onto 5th Avenue West to access either the DECC Lot.

Most traffic should return to normal by 7:30 p.m.

Detours and closures for Saturday, June 18 – Grandma’s Marathon & Half Marathon:

Canal Park Drive from Railroad Street to Buchanan Street closed to most traffic on Friday to allow for Grandma’s finish line set up. Guests staying in the hotels along Canal Park Drive have limited use of the road to access their hotels on Friday. Traffic accessing locations South of Buchanan Street should use South Lake Ave to Buchanan Street, not Canal Park Drive.

Canal Park Drive will remain closed to automobile traffic until after the marathon.

Road Closures:
Scenic Highway 61, along Lake Superior from Duluth to Two Harbors, will close to traffic at 4:15 a.m.

Scenic Highway 61, between McQuade Road and Ryan Road, will close at 3:45 a.m for half marathon start set-up.

Motorists should slow down and be alert to special signing and lane closures on the Highway 61 Expressway just south of Two Harbors, starting at 4:15 a.m.

Lakewood, Homestead, Ryan, and McQuade Roads will close from the Highway 61 Expressway to Scenic Highway 61 at 4:15 a.m.

Harbor Drive, from the DECC East Gate to the Aquarium, will be restricted to buses only at 4:30 a.m. Harbor Drive will close to all traffic at 5:30 a.m.

Most avenues leading to London Road will close at 4:30 a.m.

Starting at 5:30 a.m., the following roads will close to traffic and will remain closed until the end of the Marathon:

• All of London Road
• Superior Street from 12th Avenue East to 5th Avenue West
• Michigan Street from 4th Avenue East to 5th Avenue West
• Commerce Street/Railroad Street, Lake Place Drive, and Canal Park Dr.

The southbound lanes of I-35 from 21st and 26th Avenues East will close at 4:30 a.m.

The northbound lanes of I-35 will close at 5:30 a.m. from Mesaba Avenue to 26th Avenue East. A detour will guide vehicles to 2nd Street to continue east.

Northbound traffic on I-35 will be diverted up Mesaba Avenue to 2nd Street at 5:30 a.m.

Westbound traffic on 1st St. will not be able to access Mesaba Avenue and will instead be diverted to Superior Street and I-35 at 6th Avenue West at 5:30am.

Interstate-35 and most other roadways closed for the Marathon will reopen by approximately 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 18.

The only access for motorists wanting to reach Park Point or the Canal Park area during the Marathon on Saturday, June 18 will be on 5th Avenue West from Superior Street. There will be no vehicle access to Park Point or Canal Park from Lake Avenue.

Motorists wanting to reach the DECC or Bayfront area during the Marathon on Saturday must use either 5th Avenue West or Garfield Avenue to Railroad Street. There will be no vehicle access to the DECC from Lake Avenue.

All of London Road will close to traffic from 5:30 a.m. until approximately 3:00 p.m. Local residents and spectators along London Road can use Superior Street and Jefferson Street to access the avenues above London Road for parking during the Marathon. Spectators are encouraged to continue using the sides of London Road for watching the race.

Detours will be in place for I-35, London Road, Superior Street, and Michigan Street starting at 5:30 a.m. Saturday.

Eastbound local streets and northbound I-35 detour: Traffic will use 2nd Street from Mesaba Avenue to 21st Avenue East, down 21st Avenue Avenue East to Superior Street, and continue east on Superior Street.

Westbound local streets and southbound I-35 detour: Traffic will use Superior Street from the Highway 61 Expressway to 21st Avenue East, proceed north on 21st Avenue East, then continue west on 3rd Street to Mesaba Avenue.

Parking is not allowed on any part of the race course. Please observe the posted "No Parking" signs. Violators will be ticketed and towed. Motorists wanting to park near Canal Park are encouraged to use the Bayfront parking lots, the DECC, the Aquarium lot, or Downtown areas near Lake Avenue.

Motorists wanting to reach the DECC or Bayfront area during the Marathon on Saturday, June 18 must use either 5th Avenue West or Garfield Avenue to Railroad Street from 5:30am until the end of the Marathon. There will be no vehicle access to the DECC from Lake Avenue

On-street and ramp parking will be available along Superior Street from 6th Avenue East to Lake Avenue and along 1st Street.

Michigan Street, from 4th Avenue East to 5th Avenue West, will close to traffic during the Marathon. No on-street parking will be allowed on Michigan St.

Motorists who park in Michigan St. parking ramps prior to the road closure will not be able to exit the ramp until the Marathon ends Saturday afternoon.

Opportunities to view runners Downtown will exist on the avenues above Superior Street, Lake Place Park.

During the marathon, in the downtown area, DTA buses will use 1st Street in both directions between 6th Avenue West and 3rd Avenue East. Passengers should wait for buses at the nearside of intersecting avenues along 1st Street.

In addition, Eastbound Routes 6 and 7 “From Downtown” will take 1st Street to 3rd Avenue East, to 2nd Street, to 14th Avenue East, to Superior Street, to 20th Avenue East, to 1st Street, to 21st Avenue East, to Superior Street and back to regular routing.

Westbound Routes 6 and 7 “To Downtown” will use the regular route to 21st Avenue East the take 21st Avenue East to 1st Street, to 20th Avenue East, to Superior Street, to 14th Avenue East, to 3rd Street, to 3rd Avenue East, to 1st Street to 6th Avenue West.

The Duluth Transportation Center (DTC) will be open, but no buses will serve it during the Marathon. Passengers are directed to board and alight buses along 1st Street during this time.

The Port Town Trolley will not provide regular service until Superior Street and 5th Avenue West reopen at approximately 3:00 p.m. Prior to that, the trolley will shuttle passengers between Canal Park and Bayfront Park.

Jefferson Lines will use the parking lot adjacent to the M &H Gas Station in the 1200 block of West Michigan St. for passengers embarking and disembarking.