Bicyclists gear up for new trestle trail

Awaited project under way over Menasha lock

By Michael King
Post-Crescent staff writer

By this fall, Joyce Cowling figures she should be able to bike from her Winchester home to work on Midway Road in Menasha without battling motorized traffic.

Cowling is among many avid bicyclists in the Fox Cities who have monitored the fact of a proposed recreational trail across an abandoned railroad trestle spanning Little Lake Butte des Morts. Last month, construction began on the trestle trail and a lift bridge to transport trail users over the Menasha lock.

“The trestle crossing will make it possible for me to bypass downtown Neenah and Menasha,” said Cowling. “This will allow me to avoid most of the congestion and dangerous traffic on my route.”

Regional trail development will reach an apex by late August when Janke General Contractors is scheduled to finish conversion of the railroad trestle. When complete, it will be a 12-foot-wide trail with maintenance-free decking made from recycled plastic and wood fibers.

“We’re not just talking about it anymore,” said Town of Menasha Parks and Recreation Director Michael Kading.

He expects the $1.6 million trestle trail, a joint project between the town and city of Menasha, with significant help from the state and local fund raising, to be open for public use by Labor Day weekend.

Both Janke, the low bidder, and Miron Construction Co., which has donated construction and installation of the lift bridge, have used the frozen conditions to drive piles and pour concrete for foundations and footings.

“Weather’s going to play a big part,” said Steve Janke, president of Janke General Contractors, of Athens, whose crews lost some time when a February thaw made it too soft for heavy equipment. “If we have a wet spring, it’s going to slow us down.”

Janke crews also are doing demolition work on the trestle, replacing bad railroad ties, removing old scrap iron and any unneeded boards in preparation for installation of railings and decking.

“About three-fourths of the (1,090-foot) boardwalk is in and I would suspect by the end of this week they’ll have all the boardwalk pilings in,” said Kading.

Fox Cities Greenways, a promoter of regional trail development that is accepting tax-deductible donations for the project. Linda Stoll, president of the group, said there still are many items Fox Cities Greenways would like to attach to the project that weren’t in the base bid.

“We need things such as bike racks, recycling containers, trash cans, we’d like to plant some trees, we’d like to do some way finding signs on either end,” she said.

Stoll said she hopes to receive a $50,000 grant from a business to start up an endowment fund since “five to 10 years down the road, something that’s going to be used as often as this, is going to need maintenance.”

“Anytime we can add a bike trail it is a good thing,” said Cowling, who will get to the trestle trail via the Highway 10 trail in the towns of Neenah and Menasha. “As soon as it warms up and dries out, I’ll be checking it out.”

Michael King can be reached at 920-729-6622, ext. 33, or by e-mail at mking@ postcrescent.com