Federal funding announced for bridge project in Chippewa National Forest

CASS LAKE - Federal funding for a bridge project over Boy River on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation will make travel safer, a tribal officer said Monday.

A news release from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe said the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $770,000 for the project.

"The Boy River Bridge is so dangerous that it's a matter of time until someone gets hurt," Leech Lake Band Council member Steve White said in a news release announcing the funding. "That's something that nobody wants to see happen."

White is credited with securing support from Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Al Franken, D-Minn., and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood for the project.

The bridge project aims to improve safety on Minnesota County State Aid Highway 8 at Boy River while providing access to the Chippewa National Forest.