A Call For Donations

AN OPEN LETTER TO SINGLETRACK SUPPORTERS

As many of you already know, Falls Area SingleTrack needed to remove one of the two bridges on the Leaders Park singletrack project. The five inches of rain received in about two hours a week or so ago overflowed the drainage ditch that cuts diagonally through Leaders Park. This high flow rate eroded the bank in some areas. One such place was the bank supporting one of the bridge abutments.

We assessed the situation. It was clear the bridge was unsafe given one abutment was almost floating in mid air. We dismantled this bridge last Saturday morning.

In addition to determining how rough of shape the bridge was, we also explored remedies. Our first choice was to dismantle the bridge and relocate it. Given the specific length of the main trusses this limited where it could go. Also, given the length and weight of the trusses, lugging them around would be extremely difficult.

We have elected to replace the 30 foot long trusses with 50 foot long trusses and rebuild the bridge in the same location. By lengthening the bridge by 20 feet this will push the abutments well away from the drainage ditch’s edge and out of harm’s way.

The good news is we can reuse all the materials we dismantled with the exception of the trusses. The bad news is the 30 foot trusses were a donation – the 50 foot replacements will not be. We’ll reuse 100% of the wood deck and rails. But, we’ll need more.

I’m writing today to ask you for a monetary donation. We’ve calculated the replacement trusses and additional wood will cost upwards of $3,000.00. Falls Area SingleTrack, INC has not been in existence long enough to apply for 501(c)3 non profit status with the Internal Revenue Service. I trust this will not deter you from making a donation even though it cannot be used as a tax deduction.

Please consider making a donation to this project. Any amount will be fine. If you can spare $5 – great! If you can spare $500 – cool! Please make donations payable to Falls Area SingleTrack and mail them to:

FAST
PO Box 90144
Sioux Falls, SD 57109

Thank you in advance for your support!

Snakebite, President
Falls Area SingleTrack, INC

Ride on.