Bridges Expected To Be A Boost For Mills County Trails

Finally, there appears to be a glimmer of light at the end of the bridge for the Mills County Trails Board.

Two pedestrian bridges that are major components of a proposed trail system in Glenwood are expected to be installed when the weather warms up this spring. Engineering consultant John Jorgensen from HGM Associates said after months of impact studies and communications with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, installation has finally been approved. Bids will be opened on Feb. 28 at a Glenwood City Council meeting. Installation could begin in early March with completion targeted for late April.

A bridge over Keg Creek will link a proposed trailhead at the site of the former Glenwood Native American Earth Lodge with the Glenwood Community School District Athletic Complex, while the second bridge will replace a structure that crosses Falon Creek near the horseshoe pits at Glenwood Lake Park.

“We had to do more study work than design work because you had to show there was no rise with Keg Creek with the installation of the new bridge,” Jorgensen told members of the Glenwood City Council at a Jan. 24 meeting. “We’re actually raising the abutments from the existing grade there.

“The Corps is terrible about timelines. We go back and forth and it’s just been painful. It took over nine months to finally convince them that our plan would work and it wouldn’t cause any rise in the creek during a 100-year storm.”

The 165-foot bridge that will cross Keg Creek was purchased by the Mills County Trail Board in 2020 from an Omaha recycling firm. The bridge had previously served as a pedestrian walkway over the Keystone Trail in Omaha near College of St. Mary and the Ak-Sar-Ben Village development, but was replaced by a newer structure. Components of the bridge have been sitting at the proposed trailhead site in Glenwood since December 2020.

With some minimal restoration, the bridge is expected to have 40 or 50 more years of life.

Jorgensen said the project will include the building of abutments, assembly and bridge placement.

The bridge over Falon Creek will replace an existing structure. The unique structure will be made from a flatbed railroad car donated by Union Pacific Railroad.

Mills County Trails Board President Shawn Koehler and members of the committee have been working for nearly a decade to get the trail system going. Installation of the bridges, Koehler said, will be a major boost to the project.

“For the trails board, those who have invested the time and the heart, the frustrations and joys along this path, it means everything to us,” he said. “Once those bridges are placed, the community can see things happening. It’s going to build some excitement.”

The flatbed railcar will be equipped with hand rails and meet all ADA requirements, Koehler noted. 

“It’s going to replace the scary bridge,” he said. “It will be safer, with much more longevity and better placement. There will be a slight incline to that bridge because of floodplain requirements. We’ll make sure all the EPA requirements are met and it will be very attractive. It will still look like a railcar. For the children, I think it’s a great message of reusing, reutilizing resources that we have. It’s a pretty cool story to think that this was a railcar.”

Vinton Enterprises transport company picked up both bridges and delivered them to the community The Keg Creek bridge was delivered in sections. The 90-foot railcar weighed about 46,000 pounds and required “tons of paperwork and permits” to be transported, Koehler said.

After the bridges are in place, the next phase of the trails system project will be completing work on the Sharp Street underpass.

“Connecting the underpass, bridges and trails as far as we can go with the funding that we have and do the paving work,” Koehler said.

City officials said they’re grateful for the ongoing efforts of the trails board and they agree that placement of the bridges will be a boost to the project.

“Once bridges get in place, they’ll start working on the trails,” Glenwood Mayor Ron Kohn said. “Funding for the trail will be much less expensive than the bridge work.”

While fundraising for the trail system has been successful, Koehler said contributions will continue to be accepted.