MADISON — The Department of Natural Resources is seeking $6.6 million to repair a unique tunnel on the Badger State Trail (BST) north of Monticello, which has been closed since 2019 due to safety concerns.
On Thursday, the State Building Commission, voting 4-4 along party lines on Gov. Evers’ 2023-25 Capital Budget requests, failed to favorably recommend the project to the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee (JFC).
Nevertheless, JFC will consider funding for the Stewart Tunnel and the other projects requested by state agencies in Evers’ $3.75 million capital budget proposal.
Built in 1887 for the Illinois Central Railroad, the 1,200-foot-long Stewart Tunnel would be lined with a metal arch with space left below the ceiling to maintain bat habitat and protect trail users from falling rock.
According to the DNR:
The agency closed and tunnel in September 2019 after finding rocks on the path that had dislodged from the 21-foot-tall ceiling.
The trail was detoured around the closed tunnel so bicyclists, hikers, and snowmobilers could continue to use the 40-mile-long Badger State Trail.
Unlike other tunnels in the state’s Rails-to-Trails program, the Stewart Tunnel is unique because it is built on a curve and visitors cannot see the other end when first entering the tunnel.
The metal arch lining was chosen after the Stewart Tunnel Alternatives Analysis report was finalized in December 2021, and a public comment period was conducted from April through June 17, 2022.
The whole tunnel was refurbished nearly 20 years ago to replace the fallen bricks and crumbling limestone. The DNR expects that the metal lining would provide a longer-term solution.
If necessary, the design may be adjusted as the project enters the engineering phase in order to meet budget constraints and to comply with historical and cultural requirements.
Some of the original ceiling may remain exposed to trail users to show the natural aesthetics of the tunnel that was hewed from limestone by laborers working for $1.25 a day.
The Stewart Tunnel project was ranked seventh among the DNR’s capital budget requests just below a $24.9 million request for the Bridge Repair and Replacement Program. The DNR maintains about 900 bridges on its properties and earmarked $2.93 million for the BST.
All the capital budget projects will receive further scrutiny as the budget process plays out during the coming months, said State Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Racine, who’s also a commission member.
“We will continue to work through each capital budget item in depth, make site visits as time allows and have discussions with stakeholders during the coming weeks. The procedural votes of today afford us a deeper dive into each recommendation,” Wittke’s news release stated.
Attempts to reach the Friends of Badger and Sugar River State Trails Director Scott Kummer on Thursday were unsuccessful.
If funded, the DNR proposed that repairs to the Stewart Tunnel would begin in January 2025 and completed in May 2026.
Extending from Madison to the Stateline, the BST connects with the Capital City, Military Ridge and Sugar River state trails. At the Illinois border, the BST connects to the Jane Addams Trail which continues to Freeport, Illinois. The Ice Age Trail follows the BST for about 3.5 miles in southern Dane County.