Donations sought to fix railroad trestle

HURLEY - The University of Wisconsin's Iron County Extension Office is seeking donations to repair one of the train trestles that span the Montreal River, connecting Ironwood and Hurley, as part of a larger 16-mile trail construction project that would connect the Montreal Wis., ski trails with Sunday Lake in Wakefield.

Organizers are looking for $50,000 in donations to add railings to the trestle and decking over the existing wooden beams so that it could be safely traveled on, explained Will Andresen, the head of the UW extension office.

According to Andresen, the overall trail project would be completed in several stages, with construction of phase one - which would run through Ironwood from the river to the city's border - beginning this summer. It would be a non-motorized trail that would run roughly parallel to a number of the existing motorized trails in the region.

The original plan had called for the renovation of the bridge to be covered by the grant funding, Andresen explained, however several higher-than-expected bids forced the bridge to be dropped from the phase one funding.

"The theory is that if we can get as much community support for the bridge that (the money is raised) then we can include the bridge in that phase one project," said Andresen. "Otherwise, there will be extra costs with bidding out another project ... it would have to come back at a different time. It is easiest just to get it done all at once."

The overall trail project has already obtained 3 million dollars in grant funding from the state of Michigan for the construction of two trailheads in Ironwood and Bessemer, as well as completion of phase one of the trail, according to Andresen.

The plans call for the completion of the trail from the Ironwood city limits to the middle of downtown Bessemer as the project's second phase with a third and final phase completing the trail through Wakefield. Andresen expects the Wisconsin portion of the trail construction to occur around the time that phase two is being completed, but he said it requires the completion of the trestle to move forward.

Andresen is looking for pledges, not necessarily checks, by March 31 to meet the goal of funding the project. In one weekend, the project has already raised $9,200 Andresen said.

In addition to its function as a link between Wisconsin and Michigan, Andresen praised the trestle's beauty.

"It's such a cool train trestle," said Andresen. "It's a beautiful setting, people can look at the river, they can appreciated the historic bridge. It's just a wonderful project, it's so cool."

Ultimately, he hopes that the Montreal-Wakefield trail would serve as a main artery with smaller trails branching off to destinations in the area, such as Interstate and Peterson Falls.

For more information on the project or to make a donation, contact Andresen at 715-561-2695 or [email protected].