NorthWestern Energy to restore Point of Rocks trail

Representatives from Northwestern Energy on Sept. 15 provided county commissioners with plans to start restoration work on the Point of Rocks monument trail located west of Alberton.

Northwestern Energy replaced power poles along the old Milwaukee railroad bed, which parallels the Mullan Trail. That work was done earlier this spring, which left approximately a half mile damaged in three main areas in the process.

When work began the ground was frozen but then when temperatures warmed up the ground became moist, causing substantial rutting made by the heavy equipment brought into the area. Dirt was also moved into one area in order to provide a level base for a drill brought in to dig a pole hole.

Sadie Babcock, who works within the environmental group at Northwestern, will be the on-site inspector and said they hope to get started on the restoration work at the beginning of October. They originally scheduled work to begin in June but with the dry conditions and conflicts with the contractors, restoration work was postponed.

The restoration work is part of Northwestern Energy’s broader focus on environmental stewardship programs, which has placement of regulation compliance and reliability standards for the infrastructure along the entire Milwaukee railroad. A company is under contract to do the project, which includes a contractor out of Superior to do the dirt work. Jon Axline, a historian with the Montana Department of Transportation, will also be a consultant, along with Carla Haas from Northwestern Energy, to ensure historical integrity of the trail and pedestrian walkway. Forest Service personnel and interested members of the public will also provide oversight. In addition to restoring the paths, they will also reseed and do weed control.

Point of Rocks is owned by the Montana Department of Transportation and is a 1.5-mile trail built under the supervision of Capt. John Mullan. The entire Mullan Trail was 624 miles long, built from 1854 to 1862. It was a wagon route between Fort Benton and Fort Walla Walla, Washington.

The trail also follows the Hiawatha Trail, which is the old Milwaukee Railroad and has been converted to a walking trail with interpretive signs along the route. To access the trail, visitors can take the western-most exit to Alberton off of Interstate 90. Then, go west on the North Frontage road and turn left on Mountain Creek Road just past the old train trestle. It is a one-lane dirt road to the trailhead.