River Bottoms Trail Work Saturday, Oct 6

[Don Youngdahl]

:) On Saturday, Nov 6, from 9:00 AM - Noon, we're doing a project to haul the lumber in to the bridge site on the east re-route near Mound Springs Park, start construction of the 20 foot bridge, and hopefully complete the finish work on the re-route. If you can make it, don't wait for other people to show up, just go through the gate and down to the abandoned parking lot where you'll see the pile of lumber and the new trail. There are several 20 foot 2x12's to lug in a short way, so this part of the job takes a bit of muscle, and I'm still working with a bad left wing. I'll drive my silver van down to old parking lot, so don't look for it at the gate.

Directions to Mound Springs Park, which is located at the intersection of 102nd St and 10th Ave South: Get on 102nd street from either Nicollet, Portland, or Chicago and go east to where 102nd street dead-ends at the park.

Here's a Mapquest link that may be useful http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&countryid=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=address&searchtype=address&address=10140+10th+Ave+S&city=Bloomington&state=MN&zipcode=&search=++Search (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&countryid=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=address&searchtype=address&address=10140+10th+Ave+S&city=Bloomington&state=MN&zipcode=&search=++Search)++

The west re-route near Parkers Picnic Area is complete, including the bridge and 99% of the boardwalk. When the weather dries enough for riding, give it a try, we think it's an improvement over the old broken pallets and the eroded grunt up cardiac hill.

We inspected the west re-route with the Bloomington Parks director today, and I have to say that he is pleased with what we're doing, very supportive of MORC and it's goals, and enthusiastic about doing future work with MORC on an ongoing basis. Kudos to Dennis Porter, Former MORC Trail Steward and a member of Bloomington Parks Commission, and Steve Eberly, current MORC Trail Steward.

Don Youngdahl

[Don Youngdahl]

:) The lumber for the bridge was delivered to the site yesterday, and is now piled up where the trail re-route passes by the abandoned parking lot at Mound Springs Park. When I think about it, there is no real reason to wait for a work session to haul lumber down to the bridge site.

If you're riding the River Trail east of Lyndale in the next couple of days, stop by and make a couple of trips. You can't mess up, just follow the trail down to the ravine with the markings for the bridge footings. It's less than 5 minutes from the stack of lumber to the bridge site.

Or if you'd like to help Saturday but can't, stop by at another time and help a
bit.

Directions to Mound Springs Park, which is located at the intersection of 102nd St and 10th Ave South: Get on 102nd street from either Nicollet, Portland, or Chicago and go east to where 102nd street dead-ends at the park.

Here's a Mapquest link that may be useful http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&countryid=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=address&searchtype=address&address=10140+10th+Ave+S&city=Bloomington&state=MN&zipcode=&search=++Search (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&countryid=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=address&searchtype=address&address=10140+10th+Ave+S&city=Bloomington&state=MN&zipcode=&search=++Search)++

Don Youngdahl

[homebrewbiker]

I have to work on Saturday so I can't make trail work but there is some nice work going on at the River Bottoms. I just rode it tonight and really liked the new bridges. Of course, it is only the second time riding it, and the first time on the section East of the Ferry so it was all new to me I guess. Could tell that there was some new trail where there were actually turns (although I missed a turn on the way back and ended up on the old trail straight up the hill). People who have ridden with me before will not be surprised that I missed a turn.:crazy2:

We did see the pile of lumber, but had not read about tomorrow's plan, so didn't move any lumber for ya.

And, Don, the lights are working out well. The helmet light is a bit short on battery life but the handlebar light has enough to get me through. Thanks for the deal!

[ryno lite]

Loved my first ride on the reroutes today. The bridges are great! Great job! Can't wait for the final bridge to be complete. Speaking of bridges. The first bridge you encounter as you head east from the Lyndale parking lot has some loose boards that have come off. All that would be needed would probably be a hammer and nails for a quick fix. Saw Steve E. on the trail and informed him of it. It's a big enough gap that someone might have trouble rolling over it properly and might fall into the ravine. Other than that, the whole trail looked great!

[el gueche]

i concur - 1st time on the new section and liked it mucho grande - el supremo morc dudes rule

[bigwheel]

We had about 10~12 people there on Saturday. After everyone carried the lumber down, one group did finish work, while the other worked on the new bridge with Don Y as mastermind. Thanks, everyone. It's going to be a nice trail.

One concern that I have is using deck screws, especially for the spanners. Based on my knowleged of using them on docks, deck screws don't have very good shear strength, and don't last very long when they are used on anything that needs to flex. The main problem is that deck screws have such a narrow shaft.

#10 wood screws would work well, but they are a real pain to put in.

It would seem to me that coated, ribbed sinker nails might be a better option. Once the wood swells, they hold as well as screws - maybe better, because of the coating. They would be no more difficult to work with than deck screws. With a nail gun and small generator+compressor (both small and lightweight), we could also cut a lot of time off of a bridge project.

[qheuie]

I am glad to hear that everyone likes the new reroute and bridges. bigwheel, about the screws versus nails: I agree that nails have a much higher sheer strength than screws, but in the case of the bridge stringers I don't think that the screws are really bearing a whole lot of shear load, they are mostly for holding the 2 x 12's together. I could be wrong (it's happened before :) ) but I think we should be ok with the screws. i am sure Don will have some wise advice on this topic, too :)
ryno lite, i am glad you notified someone of the bridge that needs attention. i just want to point out that we should always use screws to attach decking (and most other wood members) on a trail. as the structure gets used nails tend to pull out and can be a real pain to bike tires, etc.

we are hoping to get some more work done on the 20' bridge this week. i know Don was down there today doing some work. hopefully we will be done soon.

thanks to everyone for coming out and lending a hand.
josh

We had about 10~12 people there on Saturday. After everyone carried the lumber down, one group did finish work, while the other worked on the new bridge with Don Y as mastermind. Thanks, everyone. It's going to be a nice trail.

One concern that I have is using deck screws, especially for the spanners. Based on my knowleged of using them on docks, deck screws don't have very good shear strength, and don't last very long when they are used on anything that needs to flex. The main problem is that deck screws have such a narrow shaft.

#10 wood screws would work well, but they are a real pain to put in.

It would seem to me that coated, ribbed sinker nails might be a better option. Once the wood swells, they hold as well as screws - maybe better, because of the coating. They would be no more difficult to work with than deck screws. With a nail gun and small generator+compressor (both small and lightweight), we could also cut a lot of time off of a bridge project.

[Don Youngdahl]

The bridge with the missing board(s) is not either of the ones recently built, and is located about 1/4 mile east of Lyndale. It's not likely that anyone was confused on this, as most people know the ace MORC building crew's work holds together more than a week or two, but I thought I'd clarify it for those unfamiliar with our high standards.

If I get time tomorrow, I'll hike in there & fix it.

Don Youngdahl