Sturgeon Lake residents rue reality of covered bridge: It's beyond repair

People in the Sturgeon Lake area are experiencing bittersweet feelings about losing a much-loved landmark, the Sturgeon Island covered bridge.

"It will be replaced this fall if the state funding comes through," said Pine County engineer Mark LeBrun. "The issues with the old bridge are that parts of the structure that the bridge sits on are starting to wash out and it is narrow at 14 feet. It has served its life."

Inspections in the past few years have shown that the bridge is beyond repair and structurally unsafe.

Plans are to replace the span with a timber bridge, leaving open the possibility that it could be covered someday. It would take a private effort, much like the one that led to the current bridge.

Phil White, a resident of Sturgeon Island since 1982 and former zoning officer for Windemere Township, said that the covered bridge was built in 1967 as part of a development project by Jim Waldhalm, a developer and contractor.

Katie Sabe, Waldhalm's granddaughter, said her grandfather made plans to create a channel to separate a point of land on the east side of the lake to create an island.

"He had to go through a lot of rigmarole to get all of the permits to dig the channel and create a little bay," she said. "But he did it and built the covered bridge over the channel."

The ambitious project wasn't immediately embraced by some people concerned about the impact on the lake.

"There were big swamps in there," White recalled. "He made a mess digging it out. But he completed it. There is so much history there, just from when it was built."

That was 54 years ago. Now year-round homes and cabins line the shores and property on the island.

"There are 41 homes and 102 properties on the island," White said. "A lot of people own multiple lots."

"It is the last covered bridge on a public roadway," White said. "There are other covered bridges in the state, but they have been moved to parks. It's pretty well-known." The most famous example in the state is the one in Zumbrota, which is now a walking bridge in a park.

While the Sturgeon Island covered bridge doesn't have the official historic tag on it, like those built in the 1800s, it has endeared itself to those who have come upon it.

A few years ago, former Moose Lake mayor Clayton Hartman published a small booklet of his stories with his 1946 Ford convertible. He stood next to his vintage car on the bridge for a photo that graces the cover.

Eileen Quittem and her husband, Scott, live on Sturgeon Lake and next to the channel that passes under the bridge.

"When we were looking at the property, that bridge was a major selling point," she said "People come here for senior photos, and for prom, graduation and wedding photos all summer. The wedding for our daughter, Brittany, was held in our neighbor's yard across the channel. Scott walked her through the bridge to bring her to the wedding site."

Quittem spoke about the plans for the new bridge.

"It will be a timber bridge," she said. "They definitely said that it won't have a cover but that it would be designed so a cover could be put on it later. That cover would have to be citizen-funded. The township will pay a little but not much.

"Originally, the township wanted to put in a box culvert. That would have been ugly. Then the township asked for input from the people. That was a good thing."

LeBrun came up with options for a new bridge and presented them at a meeting last fall.

"We were happy that it will be a timber bridge and not a box culvert," Quittem said. "We felt like we were heard."

LeBrun said the cost of the project was estimated at $400,000.

"We are going to design the top so it can be added later," he said. "The cost is estimated at $100,000."

The abutments will be made of concrete and steel. The floor of the bridge will be made of wood. It will be 20 feet wide and technically a two-lane bridge but it won't meet two-lane criteria, LeBrun said. The length of the span is 48 feet, a bit longer than the existing bridge.

LeBrun praised Waldhalm's foresight when he made plans to create the island, dig the channel and build the covered bridge. "That was marketing genius," he said.

The existing covered bridge has doorways in each wall open to small balconies where people can fish. "We won't have spots to fish from on the new bridge, or sidewalks," LeBrun said. "Hopefully, people will be respectful to others that are fishing when the bridge is a lot wider."

It's the only public spot where people can fish, Quittem said. "I love seeing kids coming from the bridge holding fish, with big smiles on their faces."

Sabe said she is proud of her grandfather's role in building the iconic landmark. "All of us cousins had our senior class, prom, graduation and wedding photos taken by the bridge," she said. "You used to be able to take a boat under the bridge if you went real slow. The water level is too high now. Removal of that old bridge will be an ending for our family, the town and the whole area."