February 26, 2020 at 5:07 p.m.
Rhinelander engineering firm presents feasibility study for proposed River Trail
Rhinelander engineering firm presents feasibility study for proposed River Trail
By Fred Williston-
More than 20 people were in attendance for the presentation, including representatives of the Great Headwaters Trail Foundation (GHT); several Eagle River businesses; the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR); supervisors from the Town of Cloverland, the Town of Lincoln, the Town of St. Germain, the Vilas County Board of Supervisors; and the Eagle River Chief of Police.
The project, when completed, would connect 55 miles of existing Heart of Vilas Trails to the 13-mile-long Three Eagle Trail, enabling uninterrupted travel for pedestrians or bicyclists from Mercer to Three Lakes.
Currently, the southeastern terminus of the Heart of Vilas Trails is near the intersection of County Trunk Highway O and Wisconsin State Highway 70 just east of the Town of St. Germain.
As proposed, the new "River Trail" would pick up from that terminus and head east through St. Germain, Cloverland, and Lincoln Townships and connect with the northernmost terminus of the Three Eagle Trail at Riverside Park in downtown Eagle River.
Chad Grundemann, MSA's representative for the project, believes the best way to proceed west-to-east would be to have the new trail run parallel to Old Highway 70 on the north side of that road, crossing from St. Germain to Cloverland townships. From the easternmost point of Old 70, the trail would then run between State Highway 70 and the Wisconsin River on the south side of the highway.
"There are a couple of challenges along the route," Grundemann said. He cited constrictions in the right-of-way along the highway as well as sometimes-limited space between the highway and the river. Those areas would call for the construction of a guard rail to separate the roadway and the trail. There are also a few spots of wetland which would require construction of boardwalks to leave those areas undisturbed.
"We really want to minimize impacts to the (Wisconsin) River and the environment, but still have a scenic trail that runs close to the river," Grundemann said. "And we need to look at a few options near the (Otter Rapids) Dam." Currently, representatives of GHT are consulting with the owners of the dam to determine an optimum route through the area.
"We will need a bridge over the Wisconsin River," Grundemann said. Just west of the boundary between Cloverland and Lincoln townships, the only current place to cross the river is the Hwy 70 vehicular bridge. Grundemann recommends a second - recreational - bridge.
"The trail really needs to be on the north side (of the highway)," he said. "It's the optimum place for a bridge landing."
As planned, that new bridge would accommodate non-motorized use for three seasons and would be utilized by snowmobilers during the winter.
"Even though the bridge is sitting out there as kind of a second project with no connection to a bike trail at this point, it could be a very useful snowmobile bridge, we think," GHT executive director Jeff Currie said. He suggested if the bridge were to be used by both motorized and non-motorized groups, some state funding for the structure may be available from the snowmobile grant program.
A similar dual-use arrangement would be made for use of the existing recreational bridge spanning the southern end of Watersmeet Lake and the mouth of Mud Creek.
"We obviously want to hear if there are any big concerns that the snowmobile clubs have so we can try to do the best we can to all coexist," Grundemann said.
"Actually, we can't move forward - or we can't tell (MSA) to move forward - until we know what St. Germain, Cloverland, Lincoln, the Bo-Boen (Snowmobile Club), the Snow Eagles (Snowmobile Club), and the DNR are thinking when they're looking at what Chad put together," Currie said. "We want people to be able to look at details."
"If your plans and our plans are not the same, we need to know about that," Currie said, speaking to representatives of the Snow-Eagles and Bo-Boen Snowmobile Clubs.
"As we approach the east end of the trail, we get closer to the City of Eagle River, and in the city limits, the state highway right-of-way that's available ... gets very tight," Grundemann said. "It's very close to the back of the highway curb. And so, to make this final connection, this is where GHT has been working diligently to start talking to landowners here, because we're going to need some permissions to utilize some of their properties for grading and to put the trail on the very edge of their properties abutting the roadway right-of-way."
Grundemann said at every step of development, MSA and GHT will seek input from local businesses, landowners, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and the DNR.
"Right now, we're at a very preliminary stage," he said.
"Depending on available funding and things that may change along the route, a segment line may have to shift, but that's the general idea of how we would move forward with the project," Grundemann said. "It's exciting, but it's also a lot of money to do projects like this."
Currently, the projected cost of the project is $5.7 million for the new stretch of 10.32 miles. Engineering costs alone are estimated at around $920,000.
"The benchmarks for what the River Trail needs to be have been set by the 55-mile Heart of Vilas Trails: asphalt; eight-to-10 feet wide; very easy for everybody to ride or walk on; and (being) pretty much an all-season trail when there's no snow on it," Currie said. "So that is the kind of infrastructure that the (River Trail) Commission and the GHT are working on. We've made application - with (the Town of) Cloverland as a sponsor - for a state grant, the MLS (Multimodal Local Supplement) grant for the first section of segment one. And we'll find out by the end of the month whether or not we were successful with that. We've also made application - also with Cloverland as sponsor - for federal funding with a TAP (Transportation Alternatives Program) grant for segment one and segment two."
As was the case with the Heart of Vilas and Three Eagle Trails, private contributions will also be sought and welcomed to help fund the River Trail.
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