DC Hwy. Committee sets all-terrain vehicle miles per traffic count and opens Caryville bridge
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — The Dunn County Highway Committee has set allowable all-terrain vehicle miles on roads by traffic count and has opened the Caryville bridge to ATV/UTV traffic for a one-year trial period.
The highway committee approved ATV/UTV traffic by miles per average daily travel (ADT) of the number of cars as follows at the February 10 meeting: ATVs/UTVs can travel two miles on roads with an average of 800 cars per day, can travel three miles on roads with an average of 600 cars per day and can travel four miles on roads with an average of 500 cars per day.
John Sworski, Dunn County director of public works, said he would prefer not to have ATVs/UTVs allowed to travel on any roads with an ADT over 1,500, although travel on roads with an ADT under 1,000 “was reasonable.”
Sworski said he believed that two miles also was a reasonable distance for ATVs/UTVs to travel on roads, and that if the all-terrain vehicles were going more than two miles, people should be in a passenger vehicle.
Allowing all-terrain vehicles will have an impact on tourism in Dunn County, said Dave Bartlett, county board supervisor from Boyceville and chair of the Dunn County Board.
Bartlett said he would be more concerned about all-terrain vehicle traffic on town roads with hills and curves rather than on county roads, which are wider and have better sight distance.
Much depends on the specific road, said Randy Prochnow, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the highway committee.
Safety is the main issue that must be considered, said Kelly McCullough, county board supervisor from Menomonie and chair of the highway committee.
Requests
ATV/UTV clubs make requests for certain county roads to be added to the all-terrain vehicle routes in Dunn County in October.
If members of the highway committee looked at every route request on an individual basis, the highway committee could use a county van and go on a road tour to review the requests, Sworski said.
Certain criteria might work in some circumstances but not others. “Real world experience” could be used to base decisions on the segments of the all-terrain vehicle routes, he said.
The highway committee could review those segments of routes that are exceptions to the standards approved by the committee, McCullough said.
The Dunn County Highway Committee unanimously approved setting roads with 800 ADT at two miles, roads with 600 ADT at three miles and roads with 500 ADT at four miles.
Regarding the current list of requests for all-terrain vehicle routes, the highway committee recommended approval by the Dunn County Board of all of the requests on the list that meet the new criteria and to postpone approval of the remaining routes until next October if those requests are on the list again.
Out of the 16 requests, all would be approved except County Highway E in the Towns of Spring Brook and Red Cedar, which has an ADT of 1,400, and County Highway M to MW, which requires four miles of travel on an ADT of 850, Sworski noted.
Sworski said he would draft a resolution for approval of the all-terrain vehicle route requests.
The resolution will be presented to the executive committee at the March meeting and will then come before the Dunn County Board in March.
Caryville bridge
The Caryville bridge is 904 feet long, and the state prohibits all-terrain vehicle traffic on bridges that over 1,000 feet long, Sworski said.
The Caryville bridge over the Chippewa River is located on county Highway H in the Town of Rock Creek.
Since the Caryville bridge is under the state limit, Dunn County can determine if all-terrain vehicle traffic is allowed on the bridge, Sworski said.
Sworski said he has crossed the Caryville bridge with a snowmobile, and while it is “a little scary” because the bridge is not particularly wide, in 25 years, he has never heard of a problem with snowmobiles on the bridge.
ATVs already cross the bridge now with no issues, he said, adding that he does not believe all-terrain vehicle traffic on the Caryville bridge will be an issue.
Prochnow noted that while snowmobiles are allowed to cross the bridge now, there are more snowmobile deaths in Wisconsin each year than there are all-terrain vehicle deaths.
The distance to the next town road from the bridge is 1,500 to 2,000 feet, Sworski said.
The bridge is a straight, wide-open structure with good visibility. When farm equipment crosses the bridge, traffic behind the farm equipment is committed to staying behind the equipment until after the bridge, so if there is an ATV/UTV on the bridge, traffic also will have to be committed to staying behind the all-terrain vehicle, he said.
All-terrain vehicles should not be any more dangerous on the bridge than Amish buggies, farm equipment or snowmobiles, said Prochnow, who noted that he frequently drives that section of road.
Of key importance will be to have the proper signs put up so people know to expect ATV/UTV traffic on the bridge, Sworski said.
Joe Hartung, county board supervisor from Elmwood and a member of the highway committee, suggested a one-year trial for having the Caryville bridge open to ATV/UTV traffic.
McCullough said the narrowness of the bridge was of concern to him but that he was open to a one-year trial.
The Dunn County Highway Committee unanimously approved allowing ATV/UTV traffic on the Caryville bridge for a one-year trial period with the proper signage installed.
