23 Oct Engineers Present Wheelway Restoration Update

For the first time in a long time, there is a major update on efforts to repair the Little Traverse Wheelway’s washed out “Miracle Mile.” On October 21, 2024 Baird Engineering presented an update to the Petoskey City Council.

We encourage everyone to review the presentation slides themselves (there’s just 16) and, if possible, to listen to the presentation and the city council’s questions (about an hour total). The project manager does a nice job explaining complicated ideas.

Trails Council Executive Director Brent Bolin addresses the Petoskey City Council following the Wheelway restoration presentation.

The plans presented are considered a Class 2 estimate and represent a “50% design” milestone, which is an engineering term essentially meaning that all the major concepts and questions related to the project have been addressed but significant detailed work is still required to produce the final construction documents. Basically, 50% design is the planned solution and is offered for feedback before the design is finalized by the engineers.

The project area is split into two sections which will have different solutions:

• The “East Reach” of the project includes the washout and extends along 2,000 feet of shoreline from just west of Magnus Park the other end of the washout. The property owned by Emmet County is in this area.
• The “West Reach” includes smaller trail collapses due to sloughing of the coastal dunes and extends along 1,750 feet of shoreline toward East Park, mostly along private property. The Wheelway runs on an easement granted by the owners of the private property.
  

Key takeaways:

• Overall, the proposed engineering solutions are “simple” and sustainable both in terms of being long-lasting and environmentally friendly. The plans also include a significant safety factor to account for the impact of climate change on future lake levels.
• The main washout area in the East Reach has not experienced additional failures since the original coastal bluff collapse in April 2020.
• Baird’s fieldwork indicated manageable groundwater flows.
• In the East Reach there will be a small bridge over the washout area.

• In the West Reach the slope between the trail and the shoreline will be extensively re-graded to reduce the possibility of additional slope failure or sloughing of the coastal bluff.

• In both reaches, drainage will be improved from the existing deep ditches on the upslope side of the trail that were created when the rail grade was originally built up.
• In both reaches the existing cobble beach will be improved by addition of new cobble. The added cobble will extend the beach face further into the water and build a higher flat spot above the high water line. This is referred to as “dynamic” revetment because the cobble can move and change over time, a much more sustainable and environmentally friendly solution than armoring the shore with boulders.
• Cost estimate for the entire project is $20M, with the 100,000 tons of cobble stone making up 75% of the project cost.

This presentation was a major milestone but we are still a long way from reopening a community asset worth $10M in annual economic activity and rebuilding this shoreline to protect other critical community assets such as utilities, US 31, businesses, and residences. The Trails Council will keep you informed throughout the process.

The meeting was broadcast live via YouTube, and a recording of the meeting is still available. The Wheelway presentation begins at the 17:23 mark.