Concerns regarding the structural safety of the Pinewood Trestle on the Bearskin State Trail in Cassian resulted in the Department of Natural Resources closing the trestle to snowmobile and groomer traffic for the winter season.
“We’re gonna be reviewing repairs necessary for the Pinewood Trestle,” DNR park manager Dawn Bishop said. “We’re going to put together a plan for the repair or replacement of that structure.”
According to Bishop, a structural failure was noticed underneath the trestle which created a safety concern.
While no timeline has been established for the repairs, the DNR has been working with local snowmobile clubs to reroute the snowmobile trail to circumvent the closure until repairs to the bridge have been made.
“We still have one bridge down there that’s a problem. It’s not safe and they’re trying to come up with a reroute,” Cross Country Cruisers president Dave Assmann said.
Assmann hopes the route will be corrected come snowmobile season, and that it looked as though everything would be OK.
While the trestle will be closed to heavy recreational vehicles, such as snowmobiles and groomers, it will remain open to foot and bicycle traffic.
FYI......Northwoods passage is also working on an alternate route as well, as the Bearskin connects with the Hiawatha Trail (its our main railroad grade heading to Lake Nokomis and Tomahawk) at Highway K...we want riders to be able to come south from Minocqua, or be able to head north from Tomahawk to the Minocqua area....and I'm sure between the two clubs we will have a few alternate routes to get you either direction...it is frustrating though, as the bearskin is the main artery for much of the northwoods...and this issue has been known for quite some time, and nothing was done about it.
“We’re gonna be reviewing repairs necessary for the Pinewood Trestle,” DNR park manager Dawn Bishop said. “We’re going to put together a plan for the repair or replacement of that structure.”
According to Bishop, a structural failure was noticed underneath the trestle which created a safety concern.
While no timeline has been established for the repairs, the DNR has been working with local snowmobile clubs to reroute the snowmobile trail to circumvent the closure until repairs to the bridge have been made.
“We still have one bridge down there that’s a problem. It’s not safe and they’re trying to come up with a reroute,” Cross Country Cruisers president Dave Assmann said.
Assmann hopes the route will be corrected come snowmobile season, and that it looked as though everything would be OK.
While the trestle will be closed to heavy recreational vehicles, such as snowmobiles and groomers, it will remain open to foot and bicycle traffic.
FYI......Northwoods passage is also working on an alternate route as well, as the Bearskin connects with the Hiawatha Trail (its our main railroad grade heading to Lake Nokomis and Tomahawk) at Highway K...we want riders to be able to come south from Minocqua, or be able to head north from Tomahawk to the Minocqua area....and I'm sure between the two clubs we will have a few alternate routes to get you either direction...it is frustrating though, as the bearskin is the main artery for much of the northwoods...and this issue has been known for quite some time, and nothing was done about it.
