PETERSBURG, AK The new shelter at Petersburg’s Sandy Beach Park is ready for use. The parks and recreation department finished work on the three-sided, log building this month. The new structure took a year to complete and it’s very similar to the old one it replaced. It’s about 50 by 20 feet inside and uses the original stone floor. There’s a big new fire place and a larger roof supported by a series of massive log trusses. The shelter is one of two new park additions that were funded by the federal Resource Advisory Committee or RAC for Petersburg and Wrangell. The other project is a bridge spanning the stream at the far end of the park. That’s where several local eagle scouts reconstructed a rustic trail leading to City Creek. The bridge incorporates a unique cantilevered design and a red-cedar gazebo with a moss-covered roof. Designer Dieter Klose calls it a troll booth; some have called it a troll bridge. The bridge cost roughly $10,000 and the new log shelter cost about $60,000. All of the money came from federal RAC funds. On a recent, blustery day, Matt Lichtenstein joined Dieter Klose and parks and recreation director Ryan McFarland for a tour of the park’s new features.
