New Bridge Put Into Place On Northwestern Trail
13 November 2019 News
(The bridge before it was put into place)
A new bridge was put into place Tuesday over the Silver Creek on the Northwestern Trail in Ripon. It replaces a wooden foot bridge that spanned the creek. Fond du Lac County Planning and Parks Director Sam Tobias says the new 100-foot bridge has a metal frame and wooden planking and should last at least 50 years though the planking will have to be replaced about every 20 years. “It’s got a steal coating on it that rusts essentially it’s just a thin layer and when that rust occurs that further seals and protects the metal structure underneath it so it doesn’t require painting or maintenance it works out really nice.” Tobias says it is wide enough to carry a snowmobile trail groomer, tractor and piece of grooming equipment and meets the current state standards for snowmobile trails because it’s 12 feet wide and will hold 20,000 pounds or more of snowmobile grooming equipment. He notes with the old bridge the county wasn’t able to get across it with their maintenance trucks with mowing equipment. The new bridge is part of improvements to 2.4 miles of the trail between Ripon and the Green Lake County line, which also include resurfacing work.
(Another view of the bridge)
(The trail where the bridge was put in)
(Counter weights being trucked in for the bridge)
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