Holly Larsen and her family are frequent visitors to the Anoka County park. When Larsen found out Bunker is getting a new boardwalk she was ecstatic.
“I love boardwalks,” Larsen said. “I love nature and anytime you can improve a rickety old boardwalk, that’s helpful for dogs, bikes, everything.”
The current boardwalk has been around for over two decades and is decaying.
“It’s old,” Larsen said. “It’s not even. If you’re on a bike, or anything else, it’s hard to navigate sometimes and you can fall over. It’s definitely a little worrisome in some areas. So yeah, this will be great.”
“The existing design is a little unique in that it has a lot of fluctuation to it,” said Andy Soltvedt, who is with the Anoka County Parks department. “It bends, it moves, it tips up and down. It can be kind of a challenging experience for folks who have mobility issues in particular, or balance issues, so having this elevated bridge/boardwalk kind of design will be so much better for the overall user.”
Construction on the Bunker boardwalk starts in the fall and finishes in the spring. The new one will be a huge upgrade.
“It is a little over a thousand feet, about 1200 feet worth of boardwalk,” Soltvedt said. “Almost a quarter of a mile, so a long stretch of trail across the north side of Bunker Hills Regional Park.”
Boardwalks are costly
The better boardwalk will be 12 feet wide and ADA accessible.
“This new structure should last us about 30 years or more,” Soltvedt said. “It’s a different style so it elevates you up out of the wetland area. It’s elevated above the cattail area so you can see across the wetland area which will be great, provides you a different vantage point from what you’re used to and it takes a lot of that bounce and flex out of the boardwalk that you experience now.”
Construction will not be slowed by the cold weather coming up.
“Most of the work will actually be done during the winter months with the ground frozen up,” Soltvedt said. “It allows equipment to access that wetland area and not hurt the plant community that’s there.”
Of course, this trail ribbon isn’t cheap. Whether it’s Atlantic City or Bunker Hills – boardwalks are costly.
“It is an expensive piece and segment,” Soltvedt said. “It’s gonna probably be close to a $2 million project when it’s done.”
Cost however is not an issue for Larsen and other park users – they just value their time outside.
“I love it,” Larsen said. “We come here all the time.”
The Bunker boardwalk will also have a bump out area at the halfway point so people can check out the scenery of the wetlands.
