‘We will rebuild’ after bridge burns on trail

Perrot State Park Superintendent Justin Wershofen said they’ve been telling people they’re planning to rebuild a bridge on the Great River State Trail that burned on Friday.

The bridge over Tank Creek is part of the trail that runs between Onalaska and Trempealeau.

It is about three miles east of Trempealeau.

He said that the bridge is a total loss. Even the piers that supported the former railroad bridge need replacement.

No one was injured.

Photos provided by Wershofen show the bridge fully engulfed in fire on Friday. Another picture displays the blackened timbers of the bridge. At the far end, some timbers still smoldered.

Since the fire happened on state land, DNR wardens are the primary investigators tracking down how it started.

Rebuild

Wershofen said that the DNR will need to find funding sources to replace the bridge. The money also needs to include the cost of removing the old one.

A timeline hasn’t been discussed yet.

For now, the trail remains open on both the Onalaska and Trempealeau ends. Signs posted along the trail and on the Great River Trails website inform users about the bridge closure.

Once hikers or bikers reach the bridge, they’ll find barricades to the bridge on both ends.

They’ll need to turn around and return from the way they came.

On Monday, a DNR news release said the bridge, built in 1957, was part of the Chicago-Northwestern Railroad line.

There are 21 bridges on the 24-mile trail. Most of those bridges are 100 years old according to the DNR.

They are developing a plan to remove what’s left of the bridge as safely and as quickly as possible.