Sylvan Status

[badfish41]

Great job, Harris and THANK YOU! There is a light at the end of the tunnel and I hope Moline continues to find ways to get the money to build new. Thank to Becky and everyone else spearheading the charge!

I got 5 on it! Only $1,199,995 to go!

[DH001]

Another article about yesterdays meeting: http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=650045

[Bexter]

Nice work Harris!!!!!!

[jimithng23]

Thank you, Harris. Much appreciation.

[Bexter]

Short notice, but Moline's City Council meeting is tonight at 6:30 PM and they will be discussing the Sylvan Island Bridge project. Harris and I will be in attendance, but please feel free to attend to show support if you are able. Additionally, there is a special-set Park Board meeting on Friday 8/30/13 at 10 AM that we will be at as well and communicating the same message -- FORC is there to help; we want to be part of the project; we support the City's efforts; and we will help however possible to make the island better than ever once access is restored.

[Tigris99]

Were there in spirit, even my wife was willing/wanting to go to this stuff had I been able to. Sylvan hold a special place with us cause it was my "gateway drug" to mtbing.

U guys are awesome!!!

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk 2

[Russhole]

Sporting my FORC shirt for the meeting tonight.

[HXE]

Today Becky Kloos Bernard and I attended the Moline Park Board meeting to participate in the discussion about the bridge. The job at hand for the park board was to make a recommendation to the city council about the direction for the bridge reconstruction. After reviewing the engineering report, there were three basic options on the table:

1. Preserve and reconstruct the existing bridge at a cost of 1.8 million
2. Tear down the steel portion of the existing bridge and replace it with a new 10' wide bridge.
3. Tear down the steel portion of the existing bridge and replace it with a new 12' wide bridge.

The park board voted to recommend option 3, the demolition of the existing bridge and replacement with a 12' wide bridge.

There seems to be wide support for reopening the island among all interested parties including the historic preservationists that were in attendance. There is far more things that we agree about than we disagree.

This is the beginning of a long process to spend a lot of taxpayer money. There is no doubt that the project has support from city leaders and the community. As members of FORC and the greater community, Becky and I have committed to working with the city to insure that the island is reopened as soon as is reasonable. We are also committed to making sure that the island is better and more inviting than ever and that the events that are held continue to grow. We believe that this is the opportunity to make Sylvan a biking/outdoor destination right in the heart of downtown Moline.

In the future we will be asking directly for input on the best way to achieve the broad goal of making Sylvan the best that it can be. Feel free to post any ideas below.

[badfish41]

Bravo, Harris and Becky, bravo.

I can guarantee once that bridge is built and we have access, I will be there busting my ass to be sure that island is restored and more. I'm not one for doing what you are doing until then, but you can bet there will be huge support from a lot of people once the goal is accomplished. Very exciting news indeed.

Can you imagine the next Stampede and the attention and racers it will bring? That will be an amazing thing.

Cheers to you.

[Bexter]

I can guarantee once that bridge is built and we have access, I will be there busting my ass to be sure that island is restored and more.

We are going to need poison ivy suits to dig through it by the time access is restored! Ha! But, it is exciting that we have an opportunity to make it better than ever! Thank you for your commitment, Raul!

Can you imagine the next Stampede and the attention and racers it will bring?

Oh yea, baby!!!!!!!

Not.At.All.Excited! OK, maybe a lil...

[jJohnson]

River's so low I've thought about trying for ford it with my fat bike, but I'm sure I'd be attacked by poison ivy.

[bleedfororbea]

poisn ivy wasnt bad when we were out for the newspaper article
spider webs will get you though and face slappers and general jungle bushwackinggggg!!!!!

[Russhole]

I tried to make the meeting the other night, but i went to the park bldg...oops. I've been pretty quiet on the bridge subject, but like jake said, when it's time to reopen, i'll be there bustin my butt. Drew and i are working out some new trail route. The plan is to do a stacked loop system as opposed to a spiderweb of trails.

[badfish41]

The plan is to do a stacked loop system as opposed to a spiderweb of trails.

Sweetness.

[Bexter]

The plan is to do a stacked loop system as opposed to a spiderweb of trails.

Bad-assed!!

[DH001]

If anyone is interested, the Missman Bridge Inspection Report (5.1MB PDF) is online for viewing. Has some good photos showing how unsafe the bridge really was.

[HXE]

The following is the text of an email that Bex and I sent to aldermen, mayor and staff prior to tonight's city council meeting. The meeting is at 6:30pm 3rd floor of city hall. If you can't make the meeting, please post your thoughts or anything that you would like Bex and I to share with the city tonight.


Ladies and gentlemen

I am writing you today on behalf of Friends of Off Road Cycling (F.O.R.C.). Our group would like to thank you for the support that you have shown thus far to Sylvan Island. We would like you to know that we are committed to making Sylvan even better than it has ever been. We support the efforts of the officials and staff that are working to reopen the island. We have been in contact with a wide array of park users and people like Norm Moline who is a preservationist and was instrumental in revitalizing Sylvan. After these discussions we have a few ideas that we would like you to consider as we move forward.

We recognize the city for its effort to do everything possible to reopen the island. We ask that the city continue working on this until we have a solution that will meet the needs of all. Our offer to help in any way possible stands. At our monthly meeting yesterday it was clear that our members are ready to work with you to make this project a success.

We would like you to consider forming a committee of citizen advisors to help make Sylvan a destination while preserving the unique wilderness and industrial heritage of the island. F.O.R.C. is committed to working with all so that when this project is complete, the taxpayers feel that we have been good stewards of their money.

Our idea is that the design of the bridge, whether new or rebuilt, will be unique and worthy of a community landmark status in itself. We have an opportunity make the bridge a reflection of the industrial heritage of the island, not just a simple utilitarian access. We are looking for innovative solutions that will not raise the price of the bridge beyond our budget.

We wonder what types of flexibility in design can be incorporated in the budget and conceptual design process. Not understanding the rules that dictate projects like this, we ask if RFPs and other creative solutions might allow as much input from all parties as is reasonable.

We envision some next steps working with the city to move the entrance to the park to River Drive and find a way to incorporate a multi use path entrance and signage that will invite people onto the island to use the mountain bike trails, run, fish, hike, bird watch, kayak or just simply enjoy the unique beauty of Sylvan. We also have a great access point to the Great River Trail. We are committed to the long term success of Sylvan.

We thank you for the efforts that you have made to keep Moline a first class city. We appreciate the open dialogue that we have enjoyed thus far. We look forward to doing our part to make Sylvan great.

[bleedfororbea]

bahh aint nothing a couple hose clamps, 10 screw jacks, lot of bailing wire, couldnt fix!
that looks like somthing youd see in some epic sibeira crossing movie

[DH001]

A few key quotes from the report.

The fact that no catastrophic failure has occurred so far must be attributed to the load distributing effect of the corrugated steel deck and most likely also the absence of heavy eccentric loading. These conditions, however, cannot be relied upon indefinitely.

It is our understanding that there are annual bicycle and running events held around the Sylvan Island recreation area. Groups of runners can cause unusual vibrations in a structure, and that is a concern on these old shaky spans.

After inspecting this bridge and noting the extensive deterioration that has occurred, Missman concurs that closing this bridge to all access was an appropriate decision made by the City in April of 2013. Several members on both spans show significant corrosion, which has reduced the capacity of the bridge to safely carry pedestrian and bicycle traffic. One specific area of serious concern to note, are the bottom chord members near the abutments. These tie bars have over 50% section loss, and are a main load carrying members of the trusses. These are primary tension members, and are considered fracture critical. By definition, if any one of these members were to fail, there would be a catastrophic failure to the structure.

I am glad Harris brought up aesthetic considerations for the new bridge. I don't think a modern style truss bridge (like the one at Sunderbruch) would look appropriate given the setting. However, I realize they don't make bridges like they used to. Todays prefab bridges use welding as the preferred method of joining members vs gusset plates and rivets from 100 years ago which gives the structure a clean and streamlined appearance. It is not a deal breaker for me, but would be icing on the cake if the new bridge could incorporate some of the old world style (rivets, rust, the exaggerated truss profile and tunnel like "airy" form of long slender members).

[Bexter]

Harris Elias and I attended Moline's Committee of the Whole meeting tonight as the Sylvan Island bridge was on the agenda as part of their proposed Capital Improvement Projects ("CIP") budget. It was exciting to see that they had earmarked $1.2M for the project as part of the 2014 CIPs, however as discussion ensued, they reconsidered inclusion of the money and ultimately removed it from the budget. While it was upsetting to see the funding pulled, their reasoning was sound. First, the City has partnered with Bi-State Regional Commission in writing a grant that, if awarded, would cover 80% of the bridge project (~ $1,000,000). If the city were to write in the project cost into their budget, they would likely jeopardize the grant (by showing they were able to come up with the money on their own). A million bucks is a ton of cash to lose -- a tough sale to Moline taxpayers no matter how badly we want the park back.

Second, while the bridge project landed #3 on their list of priorities from the Goals Planning sessions, the project cost was unknown at the time. I think it's fair to say that everyone is choking from the $1.2M sticker shock especially when the city has many infrastructure repairs to fund. Keep in mind that the 1.2 is simply an engineer's estimate. It could be less. It could be more.

So, where do we go from here, you ask? The grant has been submitted but we won't know if the city will be selected to receive grant funding until as late as August 2014. The City is onboard with the project and they know that the longer the project is at a standstill, the more the island will return to nature (and given the deterioration of the bridge, time is not on its side for staying intact and staying out of the water -- something will have to be done at some point). They certainly have a responsibility to their constituency to be fiscally responsible and we know they have people's safety in the forefront of their thoughts. As much as I want to see the island open soon, I understand tonight's decision. Do know that they did discuss the remaining 20% project cost and it was said that if we were to get the grant, they may write in the remaining 20% into next year's CIP budget. No guarantee, but the city wants to see the island accessible to the public.

I'm sure I've forgotten something, but that is where the bridge project stands now.

[DH001]

Disappointing news, but it was the logical thing to do given the grant is still an unknown. A year of waiting for the grant outcome still seems like a long time... Are thet seeking alternate sources of funding in the meantime? Are there plans to work on getting more specific estimates and pinning down construction details while waiting for the grant announcement or has the project been tabled until then? Any discussion on what they will do if the bridge collapses before then?

Thanks (both of you) for the updates and your continued involvement.

[Bexter]

Yes. They are interested in as many funding sources as are out there and are actively exploring. If we have grant-writing expertise amongst our membership, please see if you can find alternative funding avenues. No plans for pinning down construction details as that would come in the form of an RFP, and that won't issue until funding has een established. No discussion about collapse. It wasn't broached at the official meeting, but I did raise that question to one of the ardently supportive aldermen after last night's meeting. No answer. He wants to see the island open much sooner than 2016 as do we all. Here is an article after last night's meeting: http://www.qconline.com/archives/qco....php?id=652130.

Hey, I noticed a comment on our Facebook thread asking if we plan to maintain the island some while the bridge remains closed. My sense is "not really" but I didn't want to reply until I spoke with Russ and others. I don't see the value / cost balance at this point but that is just me. Seems spending our effort elsewhere has more merit.

[Chief Illiniwek]

Well I don't know if it's the city or the paper but yesterday there was a front page article that talk about the possiblity of the funding coming from the cities CIPs and got my hopes up that it could happen and then they decide no because of the grant they had applied for. So if you applied for a grant and knew it might be until August of next year before you would know if you got it or not why would you even tell the paper that it might be part of your CIPs? I know of one person for sure that has went to the city of Moline with other possible funding option and it went on death ears so you have to wounder if they are wanting other input on funding or not. If you can't tell I'm getting a little frustrated with the city of Moline's political machine.

JB

[Chief Illiniwek]

Well I don't know if it's the city or the paper but yesterday there was a front page article that talk about the possiblity of the funding coming from the cities CIPs and got my hopes up that it could happen and then they decide no because of the grant they had applied for. So if you applied for a grant and knew it might be until August of next year before you would know if you got it or not why would you even tell the paper that it might be part of your CIPs? I know of one person for sure that has went to the city of Moline with other possible funding option and it went on death ears so you have to wounder if they are wanting other input on funding or not. If you can't tell I'm getting a little frustrated with the city of Moline's political machine.

JB

[Surge]

I met with a couple people form the Iowa DOT and FHA yesterday for work in Ames and spoke to them about Sylvan over lunch. They said there is a good chance the DOT would help with a project like this, especially if the bridge is being made to hold emergency vehicle access. Here are a couple links with good information about DOT trail funding if the city has not already looked into these. http://dnr.state.il.us/ocd/newrtp2.htm http://dnr.state.il.us/ocd/fy13Trailsmanual.pdf