15565 118th Ave, Indianola, IA 50125
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Wednesday, November 19, 2008The Summerset Trail has been closed between Hillcrest Street on the north side of Indianola, to Summerset Road while two culverts are replaced. It is anticipated that repairs will take about a week. Friday, November 14, 2008Polk County Conservation informed the WCCB this morning that, because of weather issues, reopening of the damaged Polk County portion of the Great Western Trail has been delayed unitl at least November 19, 2008 Thursday, November 13, 2008The North River section of the Great Western Trail is now open. While there are several areas where work remains, the entire Warren County portion of the trail is now open. The WCCB received word this morning that the Polk County portion of the trail will reopen at days end Friday, November 14, 2008. Monday, October 20, 2008Repairs begin today on the North River section of the Great Western Trail. Repairs are anticipated to take two weeks and the trail will be closed between 25th Avenue and Fillmore Street for the duration of the work. Friday, October 10, 2008Repairs are not complete, but a temporary lime patch has allowed the Martensdale/Churchville section of the Great Western Trail to be reopened. Work has not begun on the North River section, but that is expected soon. The North River section will be closed during repairs. Culvert, bridge and shoulder work remains on the Summerset Trail, but the trail is open in its entirety. Thursday, September 18, 2008Work continues in the Martensdale/Churchville area. Floors have been poured in both culverts and the voids around the culverts have been filled. The slide area above the new culvert section has been partially filled. The underground voids above the culverts have yet to be filled, and more fill needs to be placed over the new section of culvert. When these items are done, the collapsed section of trail can be resurfaced and this section will be reopened. Restoring the access points to original grade, seeding and protecting them from winter erosion will also proceed after the voids have been filled. Rebuilding fence will be the final part of the project. The WCCB hopes that the voids will be filled by the end of next week. Work on the North River section has not begun. When work commences, this section will be closed for the duration of repairs. Thursday, September 4, 2008Work continues on the culverts in the Martensdale/Churchville section. The culvert floors have been formed and pouring should start next week. The embankment slide that occurred above one of the culverts is being filled.
In the photo above, the trail collapse above one of the Martensdale /Churchville culverts is visible. The depression is four to five foot deep.
WCCB staffer Doug Gaumer takes a turn with a high pressure hose, cleaning accumulated silt from inside the damaged culvert. A floor will be installed in the bottom of the tube to prevent water from running beneath the culvert and causing sinkholes.
The most damaged culvert end was cut off to allow a new section of culvert to replace it.
Not only did the trail collapse because of the damaged culvert, but the washing material caused a land slide on the downhill side of the trail.
WCCB volunteer Jim Rundle and staffer Jim Priebe in front of the old culvert's outlet. You can see the original limestone culvert above the damaged steel tube. The bands in the foreground are to attache the new section of culvert to the old.
The new section of culvert viewed from the trail. Almost all of the new tube will be covered with fill in order to create a less extreme slope. Friday, August 29, 2008Look for pictures of trail damage and repair work here next week. Work has begun on the Martensdale/Churchville section of the Great Western Trail. The collapsed culvert has been dug out, the crushed section replaced and the remainder of the tube cleaned out. A floor will be poured in this culvert, and in the second culvert in the same section with similar damage, and the sinkhole filled. The slide area of the collapsed culvert will be filled and the collapsed section of trail resurfaced. The WCCB contractor plans to be on site to work on the sinkholes and culvert floors beginning next week. This section will remain closed until repairs are complete The washout at the west bridge abutment of the Badger Creek bridge was repaired August 28. The scoured trail edge between Badger Creek and North River is on the contractor's schedule for mid-September. This section is open. The Summerset Trail remains open. Some shoulder work is still being done, but will not impact trail users. Tuesday, August 5, 2008Due to the formation of a sinkhole between 30th Avenue and Hempstead Street (Martensdale and Churchville), this section of the Great Western Trail has been closed until repairs can be made. It will be at least three weeks before repairs begin. The Summerset Trail remains open. Tuesday, July 22, 2008All bridges on the Summerset Trail are repaired. Shoulder work and culvert repairs remain to be done. The trail is open. Repairs on the Great Western Trail have not begun, but the Warren County sections are open. Some section may close while repair work is under way. Tuesday, June 17, 2008Lundy Acres and Grant Nature Land have reopened. Mud may still be a problem in these areas. The Warren County section of the Great Western Trail has reopened. Some damaged segments of trail are fenced, but passable. The Summerset Trail is open except for the bridge at 5th St. in Carlisle, which will be closed for the foreseeable future. Some damaged segments of trail are fenced, but passable. Thursday, June 12, 2008The Summerset and Great Western Trail closing continue without change. The Great Western is closed on the North River section and in Polk County. Summerset is closed from Middle River to Carlisle Both trails have suffered moderate to severe edge erosion from water flowing over them. Two bridges on the Summerset Trail have been damaged. Middle River bridge has not been damaged to date. Lundy Acres is closed again since Middle River flooded the area again today. Grant Nature Land was closed today as waters from Lake Red Rock came up into the park. Friday, June 6, 2008Due to flooding from the recent heavy rains the Summerset Trail is closed between Middle River and Carlisle. The Great Western Trail is closed in Polk County and on the North River Sections. Lundy Acres is closed. Facilities will be reopened as soon as conditions allow. |
