Carver Trestle

[chuckwagon]

hows the fishing there by the bridge i am tempted to cross the tracks when i shoot my bow at the range in the park. but the signs steer me away i wanna fish in the small pool acroos the tracks guess i will find another way!

[DTro]

hows the fishing there by the bridge i am tempted to cross the tracks when i shoot my bow at the range in the park. but the signs steer me away i wanna fish in the small pool acroos the tracks guess i will find another way!

people do fish there and fish are caught there, but at the same time tickets are also written for crossing the tracks. So cross at your own risk

[ec30_06]

How is it getting through the trestle right now? I might head up that way soon to try for some cats and eyes if it is passable.

[harvey lee]

Lat time I was there Ed, it said on a sign, it's a no go for Ed.

That boat won't make it through.

[ec30_06]

Ok, I will leave the jet at home. Can I borrow the Lund

[harvey lee]

Just maybe. I will need your gps locations for the use though.

[DTro]

about a week and a half ago we used waders and dragged the boat

all for no fish

[wastewaterguru]

Pretty tough even for a jet right now. It is virtually impassable for an outboard and treacherous even for a jet.

There aren't any fish upstream of there anyway. We have proved that on several occasions already.

[ec30_06]

I might stick to my normal sections then. Shakopee ramp must be busy this year with carver out of the picture.

[wastewaterguru]

Shakopee area is pretty low right now too.

I think it would be more productive for everyone to just go and fish the lakes this fall.

I was thinking I would go hit Prior or Waconia on Saturday.

[Shack]

I would not rule out the confluence. I might be down that way next week sometime.

[A.W.Wolfram]

We headed down from Shakopee the other night and all most didn’t make it back. I had to put the spare prop on. That’s the third one this year. I'm sticking to the lakes till hard water. At $90 a pop it's getting expensive.

[harvey lee]

I have two that need a rebuild from this summer on the Minnesota. At times, one needs to get to a spot even if a prop is trashed.

[wastewaterguru]

I shaved mine up pretty good a couple times this year. I usually don't keep my spare in the boat. I suppose that this is the time of year I should have the spare with.

Andy, you need to be a little more careful out there so you don't go through props as often. At 3 props a year.....maybe you could justify one of those Go-Devils or something, or a jet conversion for the motor.

I would lean more toward the jet conversion.

If you are really lucky, you might be invited to fish in one of those RiverPro boats. My goal this fall is to get to fish out of one of those a couple times. They are pretty sweet......but just a dream for most of us.

[Papa Grump]

Quote:

If you are really lucky, you might be invited to fish in one of those RiverPro boats. My goal this fall is to get to fish out of one of those a couple times. They are pretty sweet......but just a dream for most of us.

Is that a hint?

[ec30_06]

More room to myself in my boat if you all go fishing in river pros

[harvey lee]

I'm not. Anytime you have room and want a little company, you know how to get ahold of me Ed.

[DTro]

Me too

Dragging the boat in 40 degree water is no fun.

But that doesn't mean I won't try

[ec30_06]

I might go bowhunting for a few evenings till the bite picks up. Then it will be game on.

[DTro]

Just a little update, thanks to WWG:

The Scott county parks and trails commission has formally recommended and requested Union Pacific to remove the bridge at an estimated cost of $890,000.

Two of the main concerns were the bridge collapsing (they are aware that it's leaning already and it's collapse is eminent) and also the logjam that causes Carver Creek to flood.

[hanson]

Here's an article from the Star Tribune yesterday about the trestle...

Scott County votes to talk to railroad about old corridor

Board decides it can later look at how to pay the cost of converting the old rail line over the Minnesota River into a bike and hiking trail.

By David Peterson, Star Tribune

Last update: January 27, 2009 – 11:05pm

A newly abandoned rail corridor over the Minnesota River between Scott and Carver counties, hailed as a vital new link in an emerging system of biking and hiking trails, is also a $6 million mess that someone is going to have to deal with, commissioners on the Scott side learned Tuesday.

The hope is that the Union Pacific railroad, which wants to walk away from the 5.6-mile spur, can be talked into covering more than $2 million of that -- and that others will step in later to pay for the rest.

"Our proposal is 'no cost to the county,'" said the Mark Themig, county's parks and trails program manager. But public works director Lezlie Vermillion cautioned that the public is stepping into the very situation from which the railroad is eager to withdraw, with one of the line's seven bridges already collapsed and at least one other not suitable for public use.

"We need to be up front about the fact that at some point there will be multimillion-dollar costs," she said. If all goes well, "we don't need to have to cover that; we can get outside funds."

The county board granted permission to enter negotiations with the railroad, accompanied by several other public bodies with a strong interest in the corridor for various reasons.

The rail spur, which runs roughly from the Renaissance Festival property near Shakopee across the river into the city of Carver and then downtown Chaska, was abandoned after a 2007 derailment caused the collapse of one of the bridges. The railroad only served one customer on that spur, so it wasn't worth it to replace the bridge.

The biggest news Tuesday was the price tag for acquiring the property and fixing up the bridges to the point where people could use the corridor.

Parts of the spur line date back to the 19th century, and an engineering study found that a lot of work will need to be done before it's safe to use.

The main river bridge, a 600-footer built in 1917, "is deficient and can't be used as a trail crossing," Themig said. "Piers have shifted, and it causes logjams on the river. It needs to come down."

But he said there's a lot of interest among public bodies in keeping the corridor together for various possible uses, including outflow from a proposed sewer plant serving future growth in Scott County. That could mean financial help in making the project work.

A Chicago attorney, experienced in railroad negotiations, is helping local officials and believes that the railroad can be brought around to donating the roughly $1.5 million property and covering other costs, Themig said. It would mean a tax writeoff, would release the railroad from the hassles of owning it and could result in favorable publicity.

Board members had some concerns. "How does this impact other trail projects in the county?" asked Board Chairman Jon Ulrich. "Is this going to take away from them?"

Senior managers assured the board that for now it's all about keeping a link intact, and that nothing need ever be spent to improve it unless a decision is made that it's worthwhile.

"We don't seem to have anything to lose by going forward," Ulrich concluded, and Themig agreed.

"Right now it's win-win," he said. "But we need to see how successful we are in negotiations. We need to stand firm. Union Pacific does need to deal with that bridge one way or another."

[wastewaterguru]

Mark Themig has been very open in discussing the current status through email correspondence with me. I will continue to post any additional updates as they move forward with their negotiations with Union Pacific.

[Capt. Quicksteel]

I took a walk by the river in Carver on Friday to help with my spring fever. The big tree that came down last year on the Carver side of the trestle that you guys cut through is obviously still there. It looks like it may stay and catch even more stuff when the water starts to flow. Does anybody think it would be worth walking out right now with a chain saw and cutting it in a few sections so it will float downstream when the ice goes out??

[wastewaterguru]

The power of water is amazing. A good high water spring and I think something is going to give.

[Capt. Quicksteel]

It would be fun to happen to be there when it does go wouldn't it??

[wastewaterguru]

Well, like from a distance maybe. But not from a boat sitting downstream of that mess.

[Larry FlatCaster]

I took a walk by the river in Carver on Friday to help with my spring fever. The big tree that came down last year on the Carver side of the trestle that you guys cut through is obviously still there. It looks like it may stay and catch even more stuff when the water starts to flow. Does anybody think it would be worth walking out right now with a chain saw and cutting it in a few sections so it will float downstream when the ice goes out??

If "SAFETY" permits.... and you have the time and resources....

from the cheap seats... "GO FOR IT" can't hurt. If its like you say it might help, but you can bet there will be lots of others that will wash down in the spring rise.

We like video if you are able...

BE SAFE if you decide.

[DTro]

Might as well bump this to the top since I haven't been able to confirm when the park is going to open up. It's been closed all spring.

The only response I received from the parks director was "check the city of Carver website for future updates".

I did look there and it says "park currently closed"

Not sure what the deal is, but I would have a backup plan it anyone plans on trying to launch a boat there in the near future.

[DTro]

No April Fools this time guys. She's plugged up but good. No travel upstream from Carver for quite some time I'm sure. Massive trees across the entire span of the bridge passages.

[aanderud]

There was a ranger 620 that made it to the trestle and had to turn back. I wanted to see him try to jump the logs after getting a good run with his 225 hp, but something tells me the fiberglass wouldn't bounce off the wood very well, it would just crunch.