Visitors to Millbrook Marsh Nature Center in the past few weeks have likely noticed portions of the boardwalk have been closed as a safety precaution. While some areas need minor repairs and will be reopened as soon as possible, other sections will be closed much longer.
[See a map of the two major section closures here]
The network of wooden pathways, constructed in the early 2000s, were already showing signs of advanced aging two years ago because of increased water flow and winter freeze/thaw issues, Centre Region Parks and Recreation Director Pam Salokangas said at Monday’s Council of Governments General Forum meeting.
Then record-setting rainfall in 2018 and some heavy rain in the fall of 2019 accelerated the structural changes to the boardwalk.
‘The boardwalk is no longer level. We had more than 5 percent slope change in there,’ Salokangas said. ‘So we made the decision for public safety to close some sections. The boardwalk is still accessible from several other entrance points. We have some major sections closed right now.’
Salokangas is hoping to bring to the COG Ad Hoc Facilities Committee next week information about short-term repairs, with the goal of potentially reopening one section. The remainder however, may be closed for several years as CRPR conducts a feasibility study on whether the boardwalk should be partially repaired, completely redesigned and replaced or completely removed.
The boardwalk has been a key feature of many programs at the Nature Center, and it serves as not only one way to conveniently guide visitors through the area, but also to do so in a way that lessens human impact on the marsh.
Salokangas said CRPR has been trying to plan for the boardwalk’s future for the past two years. Last summer, CRPR learned it would have $10,000 from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to help fund implementation of a project identified in the Parks and Recreation Regional Comprehensive Plan, which was partly funded by DCNR and was recently completed.
‘The key piece of this is it focuses on core theme 1 [of the comprehensive plan], which is taking care of what we currently own,’ Salokangas said.
With that grant money and matching funds built into this year’s budget, CRPR will have $20,000 toward a study that will evaluate the boardwalk and make recommendations for its future. The study, however, is likely to cost a total of $50,000 to $60,000, but Salokangas said they will seek out what can be done in-kind to reduce the cost.
Ferguson Township Supervisor Laura Dininni suggested that Penn State, which owns the land and leases it to the Centre Region Parks and Recreation Authority for $1 a year, might contribute to the study.
‘The feasibility study is going to ask a lot of questions and look at a lot of data,’ Salokangas said.
That includes evaluating the structural engineering of the boardwalk, soil data and modeling for future water flow, precipitation and climate.
‘We have streams there that change their flow all of the time, so does it make some sense to get some footers away from our stream embankments?’ Salokangas said. ‘So we’re asking all of those questions and are open to what the results may be.’
The General Forum approved submitting the project to DCNR for the grant funding, and it will be formally submitted in March. Once a feasibility study is completed, funding will need to be identified for implementing any recommendations, so long-term solutions are still several years away.
‘We do look forward to the feasibility study and asking those tough questions: What does this look like in the future with the goal of keeping that open and accessible to the public?’ Salokangas said. ‘We are open to options. We expect there to possibly be some changes going forward, but we want to ask those questions.’
