Gold Star Memorial Trail Secures State Permits

10/5/17 – The planned Gold Star Memorial Trail has received the necessary permits from the state. The ten-foot wide paved trail – which would honor local fallen veterans – would initially extend two-miles from Mayville’s Theiler Park to the Horicon Marsh Visitor Center, running along County Highway TW and State Highway 28. A “friends” group successfully raised $650-thousand dollars for the first phase by a December 31 deadline but learned about unexpected expenses during the design phase this spring. It was determined that four boardwalks will need to be built on the trail in wetland areas and a rock retaining wall will need to be built along part of the trail on State Highway 28 to ensure that it would not be washed out during large rains. A cost overrun drove the project cost estimate $250-thousand dollars higher than originally planned. Friends of Dodge County Parks President Glenn Daily says the unexpected round of fundraising was successful enough to move forward. Daily says as soon as the state approved the permits, the project was put out to bid. If the numbers are in line with estimates the project would be awarded by the end of this month. Depending on the weather, if the contract is awarded preliminary work on the trail could get started this year with completion in the spring. Future phases of the project would bring the Gold Star Memorial Trail to Horicon and then eventually Beaver Dam. A Gold Star Family is the name given to those who have lost a loved one while defending our country.

 

For more information, to volunteer or arrange an in-kind donation, you can contact Bill Ehlenbeck at Dodge County Parks at 920-386-3702. Financial donations can be made to the Friends of Dodge County Parks, PO Box 72, Juneau WI 53039. Online at: http://goldstarmemorialtrailwi.org/