In an effort to keep people off the protected grasses along the Lake Superior shoreline, the City of Duluth, Minnesota, chose Modular Trail Structures to create a boardwalk and viewing platform that provides access to the city’s Park Point Beach.

Due to the area’s sometimes fierce weather and unpredictable storms, a key need for the City of Duluth was that the boardwalk be able to withstand storm surges and large waves from Lake Superior. To meet that need, the MTS team worked with the city to design a boardwalk that would hold up to the harsh conditions.

Two different footings were required: a non-penetrating, bearing plate footing was able to support the majority of the boardwalk; on the beach, a permanent footing was required in order to withstand the conditions and Diamond Pier footings were used. The needs were complex, but thanks to the simplicity of the design the City of Duluth was able to install the boardwalk and viewing platform without the need for additional contractors.