DOOR COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – An iconic feature at Peninsula State Park is getting re-built, but just not as soon as originally planned.
Peninsula State Park lost one of its most well-known features when their Eagle Tower had to be taken down in 2016 due to safety concerns.
Fundraising efforts for a new tower immediately started and The Friends of Peninsula State Park were able to donate at least $750,000 to the project.
A $2.07 million project to rebuild Eagle Tower was approved by the State Building Commission in August and the hopes were of beginning construction in December of 2018.
It’s now December and according to Missy Vanlanduyt, Recreation Partnership Chief with Wisconsin State Parks, construction has not started.
“The project is not starting in December, but we hope that it’s going out to bid in December or right after the holidays,” she explains.
According to her, there are a couple of factors that have contributed to pushing back the project’s timeline.
“Part of it was completing the design plan, that took a little bit longer than expected,” says Vanlanduyt. “The other part of it was the timing of the start of construction in the middle of winter with the structural work that needed to be done.”
Not only is it more difficult to complete work in the winter, but also more costly.
“It was going to be more expensive if we started in December with the frozen ground than if we waited until the spring,” she explains.
The original estimation was that work would be completed in late summer of 2019, but that was with work hypothetically begging in December 2018.
A new timeline means new considerations to an end goal.
“We’ll know more specifics on the schedule once we have a contractor on board after the bids are complete,” she explains. “But, we’re still anticipating an opening in late summer or early fall of 2019.”
The design concept included in the project that was approved in August had a 60-foot tall model with an observation deck that is around 1,000-square feet. Also, there was an approximately 850-foot long accessible ramp and an additional observation deck off the ramp.
For those involved with the project, the goal is to rebuild the new tower as close as possible to the original beloved original structure.
“The only difference in that [design] is that we’ve increased the size of the top viewing platform a little bit,” explains Vanlanduyt.
