Contributed photo
Maplewood State Park has been saturated with rainfall, adversely affecting construction of a recreational trail inside the park.

By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Delaying construction of the Heart of the Lakes Trail Maplewood State Park segment, due to wet conditions in recent weeks, appeared likely during the Aug. 27 meeting of the Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners.

The Maplewood State Park segment is part of the recreational trail that, when completed, will run from Pelican Rapids to Perham. The Maplewood segment is the last remaining section of the trail to be completed.

Project stakeholders including county staff, DNR, Maplewood Park staff, the contractor and Houston Engineering planned to meet to determine a path forward in light of rain events in August which continue to worsen site conditions.

“The wet conditions and water issues we are dealing with are creating a project cost and project value discussion,” said Jeff Langan, construction engineer for Houston Engineering, to county board members.

Langen said the continuous rainfall has created a seepage/groundwater issue that delivers water to trail construction sites, not allowing the contractor to construct a stable subgrade without introducing elaborate dewatering practices. This condition has allowed rainwater to infiltrate into the ground, surcharging the groundwater which is now seeping out of hillsides.

“Our trail alignment intersects several low areas and areas along side hills,” he added.

Langen said the trail will need to withstand construction loading until final paving is complete. Therefore, the subgrade needs to be able to accommodate highway loading for a short period of time, during construction of the grade, aggregate base and bituminous paving. 

“This is not achievable with the current water conditions on the site, without addressing the groundwater and saturated soil conditions,” Langen said. “It might be best to see if Mother Nature will throw a good card to us in the next six months. We need to be smart moving forward.”

County Parks and Trails Director Kevin Fellbaum said that delays would not affect government funding which is good until the year 2026.