MOTT, ND — Kayakers on the Cannonball River near Mott encountered a partially collapsed bridge, a retired train track crossing, during a routine trip. The bridge, a familiar landmark for kayakers and the Mott community, had long been considered hazardous. "We'd always been leery to go under it just because it looked precarious," said Lois Rixen, a Mott resident in the group of kayakers who spotted the bridge on the morning of July 17.
"We turned around. We weren't going to go under the other end." Peggy Fiedler, who has been kayaking the Cannonball for around six years, was also part of the group.
She snapped pictures of the half-collapsed bridge and shared them in a local Mott Facebook group. Another group member replied with a picture of the bridge taken just days earlier, showing it still intact. The bridge sits on Donald Schaible's property.
Schaible, a senator for District 31, inherited the property and the bridge from his father. He says that he was aware of the bridge's erosion over the years. ADVERTISEMENT "It's been deteriorating for some time.
It just fell in a couple of weeks ago," he said. "Now it's a bit of a hazard with the ice jams and flooding that could happen." Schaible says he is currently looking into resources and working with various agencies to address the issue.
However, the size and weight of the bridge present many unique challenges. "It's a hundred-ton steel bridge, and it's no easy task," he said. "I've been looking at that for several years.
" Because the bridge is outside of the city limits, Schaible says he has also consulted with Hettinger County to seek a resolution to the issues. "Nobody owns the river. We talked to the mayor about this," he said.
"I've talked to Water Resources and some of our state people. So we're working on it. I just haven't really come up with a decent solution.
" Hettinger County stated that, at present, there are no plans for the county to discuss the bridge or to seal off the area — raising questions on who could be held legally liable should injuries, flooding or damages to area properties arise as a result of any further collapse. "This just happened last week," Jeri Schmidt, the county auditor, said. "We don't have a commissioner's meeting to discuss it until next month, if it's put on the agenda.
" The Burlington Northern Railroad operated several lines that have since been abandoned or repurposed. Over the years, North Dakota has seen a reduction in its rail infrastructure, with more than 2,000 miles of rail lines being abandoned due to declining use, especially those servicing agricultural branches and smaller communities. ADVERTISEMENT Marty Haroldson, from the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, shared that, at present, the bridge poses more of a risk to those who frequent the river than to the environment at-large.
"It's more of a recreational hazard than an environmental one. If the bridge were to fully collapse, the main concerns would be how it affects the flow of the Cannonball River and whether it causes erosion by directing the flow to the sides," he said. "However, right now, it's primarily a physical hazard rather than an environmental one.
" "Last summer was the first time we were able to use that launch; it was delightful," Fiedler shared. "It's really discouraging to lose access to that beautiful stretch of the river." She says that she and other kayakers are disappointed that their usual route has been cut short, particularly after securing funding last summer to install a kayak launch on the Cannonball River.
The bridge's partial collapse now forces them to turn around earlier than planned, cutting their typical hour-long route in half..
