City officials considering plans to repair second flood-damaged portion of Dug Road

City of Decorah and FEMA officials agree that repairs are needed to Dug Road Trail where rains last August and September washed out the trail.

But a second portion of the trail, this one close to Main Street, also washed out.  City officials are now studying how that portion could be repaired--especially since FEMA will not pay any of the costs of that repair, meaning the city will pay the entire cost.

City Engineer Lindsay Erdman says the trail washout in that location occurred because of moisture in the hillside next to the trail--not because of erosion from the river.  Crews will need to put riprap in place to repair the cliff, but there might be work needed on the hill as well to prevent future erosion.

"The trail itself is solid," says Erdman.  However, he estimates the cost of repairs to Dug Rug Trail at that location could total from $50,000 to $100,000.  That would come at a time when the city is already paying ten percent of the cost of repairing the other end of the trail.