Dear Friends,

Laurie and I continue to be fully committed to build the Max LeNail Memorial Bridge in San Diego’s Mission Trails Regional Park. We are making steady and substantial progress towards our goal. 

After recent rains, the San Diego River Crossing where Max drowned on January 29 is now under three feet of water. The City Attorney has installed signs prohibiting Park users from crossing during the rainy season, essentially closing this popular trail for 8-9 months out of the year. The public is pushing for a solution to cross safely and legally.

We continue to receive gifts into the Max LeNail Memorial Bridge Fund at the San Diego Foundation. We’re expecting two significant gifts to come in. 

We have forged a great partnership with the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation, and its executive director Jennifer Morrissey. The Foundation will receive the $1.5 million earmarked by the State of California for the construction of the Max LeNail Memorial Bridge. We agreed on a framework governing our joint management of the project. The MTRP Foundation is also pursuing additional gifts and grants for the project.

We issued a Request-For-Proposal for the project. We will evaluate vendors next month. We are getting proposals from architects who have built beautiful, environment-friendly bridges; and we are getting proposals from design & engineering firms who are offering more prefab, low-cost solutions. Vendors are selecting and proposing subcontractors for the various components of the project. Vendors have identified a specific emplacement for the bridge.

We continue to enjoy the sponsorship of Councilmember Raul Campillo, with a monthly project review with his office; and we have good engagement with the City’s agencies, particularly Development Services. 
We have every ambition to complete the environmental reviews next year, and to build the bridge in early 2023.

Thank you for your continued support.

#ClimbOn

Ben & Laurie