State a No-Show on Trail's Upkeep

You may be wondering what is up with Musketawa Trail, which celebrated its ninth birthday last month, but has begun to look a little dog-eared. You know, cracks running along the trail, sinking edges, even occasional woodchuck and plant holes along with seven to eight years of snowmobile damage. Some important and promised work simply hasn't been done by the state. For instance, a plan to patch the rough spots caused by snowmobile studs hit a snag two years ago. It just hasn't moved forward, though state officials say they want to git 'er dun. "It is our responsibility and it was supposed to be done, but it fell through because the trail manager couldn't find a contractor," Department of Natural Resources spokesman Mark Mandenberg said.
Bids went out in 2004
Mandenberg is talking about a request for bids that went out to contractors in 2004. They were asked to bid on applying three surface treatments, each viewed as potential spot fixes, which might offset the need for a costly repaving job. One was epoxy-based. Another was liquid plastic. The third was a standard driveway coating. "It wasn't that the job was too small, but that it was a pain-in-the-butt job," Wes Lomax, the Musketawa trail manager, said. "I just couldn't get a bidder. "It was a 100 feet of this over here and 100 feet of that over there. We need the repair done on 28 spots. We were intending to find an economical way to do it." The result, of course, is that nothing has been done, although the problem was recognized seven to eight years ago.
Backed off banning studs
You may recall in 1999 that the DNR and Natural Resources Commission opted to move away from a heated push to ban studded snowmobiles on state-funded paved trails and explore "design" and "management" alternatives. One option was to give trail managers such as Lomax the authority to close the trail when there was not enough snow to protect the surface from snowmobile studs. That idea helped. A design option involved building the west half of the Musketawa with a gravel shoulder, where snow could be piled up to create a base for riding. But riders still insisted on riding down the middle, where there was little snow and the trail was damaged further. Meanwhile, snowmobilers ponied up money to research whether other asphalt mixes might hold up better under carbide studs. The initial mixes were tested on the Musketawa Trail. One or two showed promise and the research continued. The DNR then moved to realistically test mixes on the Pere Marquette Trail. That multi-year study is showing promise, according to Mandenburg. "So far we're finding that a couple of mixes are holding up really well," he said. "A final report will be coming in 2007. "But back home here in Muttsville on the Musketawa, people are starting to grow weary of the trail's hang-dog appearance. Bob O'Brien, vice-president of the Friends of the Musketawa Trail, is an avid in-line skater who skates with his wife Arlene. Even though the trail is 12-feet wide, the pair are confined to four-foot wide strip the entire 23 miles out and back. That, or risk going down because of roughness. "I'm quite frustrated about the repairs but I am feeling like I haven't done enough to keep it moving," said O'Brien, who said he has pulled back a bit in recent years. Generous feelings for an unpaid volunteer, a man who shouldn't have to prod the state to do what it should to maintain its $2 million investment. O'Brien worries the trail eventually may deteriorate to a point that he can no longer skate it. And he may not be far off. "The problems don't affect the bicyclists as much as the skaters," said Dave Mazurek, operations superintendent for Ottawa County, which does regular daily maintenance on its portion of the trail during the summer months, but has no involvement in winter or major maintenance. "It is a popular trail, but we see a little deterioration every year. We hit the plants that grow up through it with herbicide, but we don't do anything about the pit that is left. Those can be the size of a 50 cent piece. And it may buckle up around that for two or three inches." Which is where Lomax has the right idea. "We have a mix of problems and the construction defects are more serious than the snowmobile problems," said Lomax. "What would be most useful is a maintenance program where we periodically assess the needed repairs and schedule to get them done in two or three years." An idea that brings the discussion full circle. "I would like to see it (the coatings) done this year," Mandenburg said. "There is a legitimate need to see about the repairs. We need an assessment. We haven't done that. If we need more money then we need to identify those needs and get them in a grant-round to get it." Seems the only thing left is to git 'er dun.
By Howard Meyerson - The Grand Rapids Press - Friday, March 03, 2006