Bridge closed as county, Pathways works to repair it

SHAWANO — A bridge that serves as a major crossing for those utilizing the Mountain Bay Trail is getting some needed renovations, even though the work is requiring hikers, runners and bicyclists to find a way around.

Signs on both sides of the bridge at Sturgeon Park warn about its closure, but that hasn’t stopped some from trying to cross as fixes are taking place, according to representatives from Shawano Pathways, an organization dedicated to improving outdoor recreational opportunities in the area.

Volunteers with the group have helped to remove layers of rotting timber and getting rid of nails and screws at the base level of the bridge in order to prevent people from being injured and in the hopes of not dealing with near-future problems.

Matty Mathison, one of the volunteers, said that there were three layers to the bridge, but two layers have been removed because of the hazards. Besides the aging timber causing parts of the bridge to warp and cause tripping hazards, there are parts where the wood has rotted around nails and screws holding them in place, which poses the risk of coming through shoes and puncturing the skin.

“The bridge is 327 feet, so that’s 600-something feet of wood,” Mathison said, noting that people are angry that work hasn’t been done on the bridge sooner. “The nails and the screws and even the bolts, when you try to pull them out, they break or they bend. It was basically a crowbar on every board (to remove them).”

Mathison noted there had been previous attempts to fortify the bridge, but untreated materials were used, which caused them to decay sooner.

Other volunteers pointed out that removing the damaged and decaying boards was not an easy task.

“We were laughing, but we were crying at the same time,” Greg Sturm said during a work session Wednesday.

Pathways worked with Shawano County, including parks director Keith Marquardt to figure out a solution. As Pathways removed layers, the county has started to add a new layer of treated wood. An $8,000 Rotary grant with matching funds, along with Shawano Pathways donations totaling $5,000 and another $5,000 from the county has helped to pay for the work being done.

Dan Pohls, another Pathways volunteer, noted that one of the layers of wood had been set at a diagonal angle, which had required more nails and screws to keep everything in place.

“We also had the star screws, the T-25s, that were also in there, too, and that was just from the second layer that was rotting away,” Pohls said.

Pohls and Sturm pointed out that some had been missed when volunteers first swept the bridge, which prompted the latest work session this week. As they worked, people came up to the bridge on foot or on a bicycle, wanting to cross, according to Sturm.

“There were still a dozen people wishing they could cross even though there were signs saying it was closed,” Sturm said.

That included runners from Shawano Community High School. Sturm said they ran across the bridge — even as workers were working — and one of them tripped and fell. He said he hoped she wouldn’t be sliced by a nail or screw.

“She did catch the roughness of the bridge and was bleeding some,” Sturm said.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com