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Bridges bring new recreational opportunities to Badger Lake

They are an investment in the area’s quality of life

Anyone out walking or bicycling around Badger Lake in the last couple of weeks undoubtedly noticed a couple of new bridges there.

One of them — a 180-foot long span — crosses a portion of the lake near Veterans Memorial Park. It replaces one that was removed about five years ago because it was worn out and unsafe.

The other, shorter, bridge crosses a spillway on the northwestern side of the lake.

People are walking and riding over both bridges right now, although the project isn’t technically complete yet. Some trail work near the bridges remains to be done. Eventually, the bridges will be links in a hard surface trail that will loop around the entire lake. The needed paving is expected to be done next year.

The total price tag for the bridges was a bit more than $119,000.

The Webster County Supervisors approved the money for the bridge project in 2018.

Matt Cosgrove, Webster County Conservation director, told The Messenger that the project was “possible because the Board of Supervisors provided some funding for a handful of these quality of life projects.”

We thank the Board of Supervisors for having the foresight to invest in a project that will benefit area residents for years to come.

And while many other activities are off limits due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walking and bicycling are not among those activities. Cosgrove said trail use has increased by as much as 200 percent in recent months. So we encourage people to get out on the trails and check out the new bridges.

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