Safety Concerns Force Old Train Tunnel’S Closure

The Avery Ranger District has closed a tunnel along the abandoned Milwaukee Railroad grade because of safety concerns, the district announced Thursday.

The tunnel is on the Idaho side of the proposed “Route of the Hiawatha” trail, which is already popular with mountain-bikers.

The tunnel is one of 10 tunnels and nine trestles along the scenic route.

The U.S. Forest Service is seeking funding and the expertise necessary to reopen the two-mile Taft tunnel, which lies on the border of Idaho and Montana.

Since the Taft tunnel was closed last year, mountain bikers have been taking a forest road across the state line to reach the west portal of the tunnel, said Jaime Schmidt of the Avery Ranger District.

From there they continue 13 miles downhill until they connect with the road between Wallace and Avery.

The latest tunnel closure “does cause an inconvenience because it’s right in the middle of the trail,” Schmidt said. The closed tunnel is about 2 miles west of the Taft Tunnel, she said.

A section of the tunnel liner is cracked and concrete has fallen from the top of the tunnel. The tunnel is posted as closed, but is still physically open to allow access for firefighters.

The district plans to build a bypass around the tunnel as soon as Forest Service workers are no longer needed to fight wildfires.