Outlet Trail Bridge raises concerns

Post date: Jun 11, 2013 1:54:43 AM

Footbridge will sink sailboating at J. Lake

By HARRY G. PERKINS, Hub Regional Correspondent | Posted: Friday, June 7, 2013 11:45 am http://kearneyhub.com

JOHNSON LAKE — A footbridge to be built across the outlet canal on the east side of Johnson Lake will severely limit sailboats’ use of the canal after this year’s boating season.

Tim Anderson, public relations adviser for the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, said sailors have not been forgotten, but there doesn’t appear to be a solution to the problem that sailboat masts are too tall to pass under the bridge. “We have talked with a lot of them and have thought strongly about the problem,” Anderson said. “It’s certainly not our intent to shut sailboaters off the lake.”

The bridge over the outlet canal will become a part of the hike-bike trail along the lake’s east shore. The trail that extends to the footbridge will connect with the Roper Hike and Bike Trail that passes through the Nebraska State Park on the east side of the lake. Ron Fowler, a member of the Hike and Bike Trail Committee, distributed photographs that show the footbridge will cross the outlet canal in a location where it would block lake access for most sailboats that dock in the outlet or are launched in it.

At the last Johnson Lake Development Inc. Board of Directors meeting, President Joann Wieland asked Fowler, “What about the sailboaters? They use the lake, also.” Fowler replied, “The sailboats won’t be able to use the outlet canal after this year.” It was suggested that sailors lower their masts to pass beneath the bridge, but some sailors say it is risky, if not physically impossible, to raise or lower their mast once the sailboat is in the water.

Sailors normally erect their masts before launching their boats and docking them for the season. The boats that the footbridge would block are larger and their 25- to 30-foot masts weigh up to 100 pounds. Some Johnson Lake sailors store their boats on trailers along the canal and use a ramp downstream of where the bridge will be. Those sailors also would no longer be able to use the outlet to launch and recover their boats.

Eilers Machine and Welding of Lexington is offering to build the steel bridge in honor of the late Brian Eilers, founder and developer of the firm. Anderson said it is hoped installation of the bridge would begin in October or November. However, Anderson, who also is active with the hike-bike trail, said there is engineering and fundraising to be done, and the project must have the approval of the Federal Energy Regularity Commission.