Serving the Iron Range and northeastern Minnesota

Transportation

Northeastern Minnesota's transportation system connects the region to local, regional, national and international markets. Airports, roadways, rail lines and a world-class port move the region's imports and exports, and make business and recreational travel easy and convenient.

The carefully engineered fluidity of the region's transportation system is the result of millions of dollars of investment by federal, state and local governments.

Airports

For travel by air, regional airports in Chisholm-Hibbing and the Duluth International Airport provide daily access to and from Minneapolis and other midwestern cities, plus national and international connections to flights.

• Aitkin Municipal Airport
  (218) 927-2527
• Chisholm-Hibbing Municipal Airport
  (218) 262-3451
• Cook County Airport - Grand Marais
  (218) 387-3024
• Cook Municipal Airport
  (218) 666-9931
• Duluth International Airport
  (218) 727-2968
• Ely Airport
  (218) 365-5600
• Eveleth-Virginia Municipal Airport
  (218) 744-1428
• Grand Rapids Itasca County Airport
  (218) 326-0893
• Orr Regional Airport
  (218) 757-9994
• Richard B. Helgeson Airport, Two Harbors
  (218) 834-2162
• Tower Municipal Airport
  (218) 753-2307

UPS, FedEx and other freight carriers provide daily air transportation of packages in and out of a number of regional airports.

Rail

Railroads crisscross the landscape of northeastern Minnesota, providing major hauling and shipping capacities for area manufacturers and industries. Rail/water intermodal facilities serve Lake Superior providing worldwide shipping access through the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Seaway route. Duluth, the inland terminus of the St. Lawrence Seaway connection to the Atlantic Ocean, is the largest port on the Great Lakes, and the 20th largest port in the United States. Four major rail carriers serve northeastern Minnesota. They are:

• Burlington Northern/Santa Fe
• Canadian National
• Canadian Pacific
• Union Pacific / Wisconsin Central

Canadian National provides access to ports on the east and west coasts, including Halifax and Vancouver. A new port in Port Rupert, Canada will shorten shipment time to Asia and the Far East by 60 hours round trip.

Highways

Most major northeastern Minnesota communities are connected by a four-lane highway system and have easy access to state and federal roads, making travel and truck transportation more efficient.

Highways 2, 53 and 169 are major routes for U.S. and Canadian trucking companies that move wood products, agricultural products and other goods. These roads are part of a well-established highway network that provides access from the Canadian border to Duluth, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Wisconsin, North Dakota and the rest of the country.

The many top-notch trucking services based in the region know that this type of easy access to major highways is important to the viability of their businesses.

Shipping

The Duluth-Superior Port on Lake Superior is consistently ranked among the nation's top ports based upon tonnage. Nearly 40 million metric tons of bulk and packaged general cargo pass through the port annually. Outbound ships carry more than 17 million tons of taconite pellets and iron ore from Minnesota per year, along with millions of tons of other commodities destined for eastern U.S. markets and foreign ports via the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. The port's 15 cargo terminals are visited annually by over 1100 vessels. Several commercial shipping lines have headquarters or local offices in Duluth, and can assist with your business's water-based transportation needs.

Several commercial shipping lines have headquarters or local offices in Duluth, and can assist with your business's water-based transportation needs.

For more information, visit the Duluth Seaway Port Authority web site.