Koochiching County commissioners were right to put into place a plan that appears to provide solutions to a number of concerns.

The board Tuesday accepted a temporary five-year easement offer by Boise Inc. that allows the public to use the company’s road between Minnesota Highways 332 and 11 East.

Opening the private road for public use will provide immediate relief from the amount of passenger traffic that now mingles with heavy equipment and trucks on the Burner Road portion of Highway 332. Boise Inc. managers and workers have sought vacation of the road based on safety concerns.

The easement road will allow local traffic to move between Highways 332 and 11, but won’t appear as a full-blown highway that could draw visitors heading to Canada to bypass the Highway 53 business district. The Burner Road already allows traffic to bypass that area if desired, and will continue to do so without vacation.

The five-year easement will allow county officials to further consider whether to proceed with realignment of a northern entrance to Highway 332. During that time, traffic use and patterns on the Boise road, as well as the Burner Road, can be monitored to consider future needs.

During the temporary easement period, area leaders can continue to market the foreign trade zone located east of Ranier, to companies that would benefit from locating there, as well as provide jobs and a boost to the local economy. Should it appear that a potential user of the zone has been secured, a road into the foreign trade zone could quickly be established off Highway 332.

International Falls officials have identified a potential route to the FTZ off Highway 332 and onto Highway 11 East near Ranier. That route could be viewed as a bypass, not only of the city’s Highway 53 business district, but of the Highway 11 East businesses. They, too, deserve consideration in this issue.

Meanwhile, issues left to be resolved will be clearer after a Minnesota Court of Appeals rules on issues raised by International Falls regarding the county’s realignment plan.

We welcome that ruling because it should end much of the contention between the two governments. But in the meantime, acceptance of the Boise easement offer just makes good sense for everyone.