KAUKAUNA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — There is a new way people in the Fox Valley can take to the trails.
The Nelson Family Heritage Crossing was dedicated Friday morning, and the site is expected to bring a boost to the local economy.
For the past seven years, Mark Stoffel and his dog Cooper have hiked the trails in the Kaukauna area.
“It’s beautiful. I’ve been waiting for it to open. I’ve been walking the trails daily, asking for when it’s going to be open. Now that it’s open, I’m just enjoying it,” said Mark Stoffel, Kaukauna.
The Nelson Family Heritage Crossing stretches nearly a quarter mile over the Fox River. It connects Heesakker Park the Village of Little Chute with the City of Kaukauna. Little Chute Village Administrator James Fenlon says the trail should bring a boost to the area economy.
“Heesakker Park has a trail that about 25,000 visitors a year. We think that with this trail open, we’ll see maybe three to four fold that from people coming into the region,” said James Fenlon, Little Chute Village Administrator.
“It’s going to bring a lot of people to the community. We’re going to try to run races over this, and include this in part of our 5Ks, and runs and walks, and different activities like that also,” said Mayor Tony Penterman, Kaukauna.
The 1131 foot-long boardwalk is new construction. Workers used six miles of decking, and 250 tons of steel beams.
“There was some challenges with foundations, the soils. There’s environmental factors in the river, of the sediment. So we had to drill into bedrock 10 feet. There was challenges with retaining walls, just all the environmental contamination stuff,” said Ryan Van Camp, GRaEF Engineering Project Manager
Van Camp says the $3.5 million dollar walkway was completed on time. Mark Stoffel says he and Cooper will add the Nelson Family Heritage Crossing to their hiking list.
“It encourages us all to get out there, and be more active, just enjoy it. Sometimes we forget about all the beauty that we have right in our area,” he said.
The boardwalk is open from dawn until 11 p.m.
The project was a partnership funded by many organizations, including the David and Rita Nelson Foundation, with contributions from the City of Kaukauna, and the Village of Little Chute.
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