A nature trail at James Stewart Memorial Park in Aberdeen will see significant improvements as the city works to replace and repair a series of shoddy wooden foot bridges, closing the trail for intermittent periods this summer.

Aberdeen’s City Council authorized on Wednesday a $43,600 contract with Jackman and Brooks Contracting to remove a 36-foot-long bridge, which is rotting and unstable, and build a new one in its place with pressure-treated timber, handrails, steel connectors and a concrete foundation.

With that bridge as the initial target for repairs, the construction bid came in under budget, allowing other infrastructure on the trail to be rectified, said Stacie Barnum, parks director with the city of Aberdeen.

“This summer’s capital project focus will be repairs to all of the Stewart Park trail,” Barnum said.

The series of wooden bridges carry foot travelers over drainages, wetlands and creeks along a one-mile nature trail that loops through mature forest, starting and finishing near the shelter and lawn at the park near North B Street.

In 2022, an engineer hired by the city found rot and an unstable foundation in one of the bridges, calling it “not safe and needs to be replaced,” recommending the city budget $60,000 for the project and keep the trail closed until completing repairs.

Barnum said the city put up signs and tape closing the trail at the point of that failing bridge, although those have been tampered with through the years and need to be replaced. The trail is currently open until hikers reach a “bridge closed” sign, and this summer the trail will close periodically as workers fix up the trail, Barnum said.

Contact reporter Clayton Franke at 406-552-3917 or clayton.franke@thedailyworld.com.