A portion of a new retaining wall on West Ludington Street in Iron Mountain is shown from South Pine Street, heading east. Work continues on a $436,000 project to replace a former stone wall that was deteriorating. (Jim Anderson/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — The redesign of a retaining wall along Iron Mountain’s West Ludington Street is nearing completion, with guardrail and slope restoration pending.

A century-old stone wall in the area of South Pine and Forest streets has been replaced with a precast concrete wall, much lower in height. The stone wall — more than twice the height of its replacement — was frequently patched through the years.

The city council Tuesday approved a change order with Bacco Construction Co. of Iron Mountain that increases the contract price to $436,446. The bid accepted in February was $399,155.

Much of the change order is for “unforeseen mechanical rock excavation,” which wasn’t in the original contract, said City Manager Jordan Stanchina. The council also learned Tuesday of a stress crack in the new wall, which the contractor will need to correct.

Ludington Street splits when approaching from the east and the replacement wall will maintain a one-lane width for both the upper and lower road levels. A sanitary sewer line that ran within the wall has been relocated beneath the upper street section.

The project is funded with American Rescue Plan funds. The city’s total allocation under the 2021 ARP pandemic aid law was $765,000 and about $140,000 of that was spent on a conversion to LED street lights.

With the change order, a total of $362,382 has been paid to Bacco to date.

In other action, the city council:

— Approved a 10-year lease renewal for Mountain View Ice Arena. The city leases land for the arena to the non-profit Mountain View Board, which is responsible for use and maintenance of the property. The renewal at a $1 annual fee was requested in February. In response to input from the Dickinson Area Hockey Association, Mountain View’s bylaws were updated and both DAHA and Iron Mountain Skating Club gained a seat on the board.

— Referred paving bids to staff for review. The bids for nearly a mile of street paving, along with more than half-mile of alleys, came from Payne and Dolan of Gladstone at $572,532 and Bacco at $580,306.

— Postponed consideration of a brownfield plan for the former Appliance and Furniture Mart at 111 E. Ludington St., which includes renovating the site to provide parking, commercial space and up to 20 apartments. Stanchina explained that an engineer’s recommended revisions must be incorporated into the plan, which may be available for the council’s Sept. 15 meeting.

— Will vacate an undeveloped alley right-of-way between East Hughitt Street and East A Street, east of Park Avenue. The request was from Jeff and Mary Beth Moraska, 920 E. A St. Also approved was a request from Tim Johnson, 915 Jackson St., to vacate a portion of an undeveloped alley right-of-way in the 900 block of Jackson Street. No objections were raised during public hearings on the respective petitions.

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Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.