Dam bridge closed in Split Rock Creek State Park

This crack in one of the piers supporting the bridge over the dam at Split Rock Creek State Park has prompted the closure of the bridge until an engineer can inspect it. The crack has no impact on the dam, which is located below the pier. Photo: Kyle Kuphal

The bridge over the dam in Split Rock Creek State Park was closed due to a crack in one of the supporting pillars.

Chris Ingebretsen, parks and trails supervisor for Blue Mounds and Split Rock Creek state parks, said park staff inspected the dam after heavy rains and flooding in June and found that one of the piers supporting the bridge over the dam had a “pretty big crack.” The crack is believed to have been caused by weathering over time, not by the heavy rains and flooding earlier this year. Ingebretsen said the structure was inspected about two years ago and at that time they found some weathering on the pier, but no crack.

He said the bridge was closed out of an abundance of caution and a bridge engineer from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is scheduled to inspect the pier this week.

A few weeks ago, about a foot of water was released from the lake in the park so that the water would not overflow the dam and an engineer could safely reach the pier with a boat from the upstream side. Ingebretsen said there is a control valve that is used to release the water.

“We’ll just keep the level low until the inspection is complete and then let it refill,” he said.

Ingebretsen said it is not yet clear how long the bridge will be closed and what could be done to repair it. If engineers deem it safe, the bridge could reopen soon. Otherwise, the closure would likely last longer.
“It’s a pretty complex structure that needs to be repaired,” Ingebretsen said.

He said there were no problems with the dam itself.