Investigation Underway As 68-Year-Old Wisconsin Bridge Destroyed By Fire

For people who love to walk or run on trails, Wisconsin is a great place, as it has an extensive network of trails.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources notes that it manages 44 state trails, which cover 1,700 miles of land-based trails. Additionally, AllTrails lists 1,453 hiking trails in Wisconsin.

A great place to visit is the Great River State Trail, a 24-mile trail that travels through prairies and backwaters of the upper Mississippi River valley. The Great River Trail is within a larger area called the Mississippi Flyway, and it passes through two National Wildlife Refuges and links to the La Crosse River State Trail via a short road route in La Crosse.

One reason visitors love to frequent this trail is because it features a finely crushed limestone surface, which is good for walking and bicycling for much of the year and snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing in winter.

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The Great River State Trail also features 21 bridge structures with over 3,100 linear feet of bridges. Most of these bridges are 100-year-old railroad bridges, and unfortunately, one bridge has now been destroyed.

Tank Creek Bridge Destroyed By Fire

There's a cool history to the Great River State Trail in that it was built on an abandoned Chicago-Northwestern railroad line. The Tank Creek Bridge was originally built in 1957 as a railroad bridge for that abandoned line. The bridge is over 200 feet long and is located approximately three miles east of Trempealeau.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources recently announced that the Tank Creek Bridge has been deemed a "total loss" due to damage from a fire that took place on the evening of Thursday, May 15. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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Thankfully, no injuries were reported, but the bridge will remain closed until further notice, and the public is advised not to attempt to access this structure.

Due to the location of the bridge, no reroute is currently available. The public should not make any attempt to access the structure, as the DNR is now working to address the removal of any bridge debris as safely and quickly as possible.

As for replacing the bridge, the DNR adds that neither a timeline nor a budget for replacement has been established.