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One of the small bridges on the new section of bike trail,  just outside of Taylors Falls,  was lifted from a huge trailer by a boom truck and lowered into place last week.  

The trail  section, a segment of the Swedish Immigrant Trail, planned to run east-west from Taylors Falls all the way to Wyoming’s Sunrise Prairie Trail, will also continue through Interstate Park as a Minnesota DNR project. For the time being it starts on Tern Ave. and ends on the  edge of Taylors Falls.  The photo is the section of bridge closest to Herberg Road.
The project winds through a cleared corridor in wooded parts, and around a couple of farm fields.  

The scenery is an ideal backdrop for a trail-- but  ravines also created  secluded spots for disposing  debris over the years.   Last week, the Chisago County Board approved an additional expense for the trail of $92,000,  to abate a major dumpsite trail contractors have encountered.  (The corridor work itself is being funded with a state Legacy Amendment grant.)

County Administrator Bruce Messelt advised the county commissioners the cleanup funding will come out of the solid waste management fee revenues and not general fund. The staff “will shake every tree” to identify any outside grants meant for assisting in cleaning up dumpsites such as this one. This dumpsite goes beyond the accumulation of household trash and the odd mattress or two;  Messelt said it can be considered a full blown solid waste cleanup site.

Messelt told the Board the funding approval was time sensitive,  because now is when large trucks can access the debris, while ground is still hard.  The county is also investigating the contents of what’s being hauled out for any clue as to who may have been behind the illegal dumping.

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