Bellfree Contractors, Inc., incorporated in 1987 and licensed as a California "A" contractor, has been in the forefront of trail and pedestrian bridge construction for over 35 years. Before and since incorporation, the Company has completed over 400 successful projects in 14 states, without default, including those listed below. A recent focus is urban trail consulting and design/build projects, both public and private, and sometimes in concert with youth work groups, volunteers or agency staff.
Company President Roger Bell, formerly a college administrator and faculty member, who holds a PhD from the University of Washington, has been involved in every phase of the work, from pick and shovel, machine operation, structural design and construction, to business operations and finance.
Past President and conference organizer for the Professional Trailbuilders Association, he is a frequent speaker to various professional and volunteer organizations about issues surrounding trail and bridge construction. These include: National Trails Symposium, California Trails Conference, Forest Service trail inspector workshops, California Park Rangers Assn., Riverside County Trails Conference, National Park and Recreation Society Conference, Rails to Trails workshops, and Rim of the World Trails Rendezvous.
He serves on the Board, formerly as Treasurer and Chair, currently Vice Chair, American Trails; has helped plan their National Trail Symposia; is Past Secretary and Board member, San Timoteo Greenway Conservancy; was on the architectural design team for the County of San Bernardino portion of the Santa Ana River Trail. He received a formal commendation from the City of Yucaipa for assisting with trail development, and was on the Regional Trails Committee for San Bernardino/ Riverside Counties and the Redlands Trails Committee. He heads up another company, Naturtec: Trail and Bridge Technologies, primarily to market various trail related products which it has used and found especially effective.
He consults regularly with developers, government agencies, and architectural designers. His article describing how "universal design" trail standards make better trails generally was published in the Park Access Digest. At the 1995 California Trails Conference, he was awarded the Harry Dean memorial award by Whole Access and the Trail and Greenway Foundation for contributions to trail accessibility. He was subsequently selected to the Board of Whole Access, and served as its Chair.
Three recent articles in American Trails Magazine: “Hybrid Contracting” describes how contractors can work in combination with others for both expertise and reduced cost, “Trails in New Home Developments” is a case study of an extensive project in Calabasas describing how such collaborative efforts lead to quality trails, and ”Cinderella Comes of Age” describes why building trails in private developments is an important trend. Also, he has written a collection of humorous poems about 35 years of trailbuilding , Trail Tales, which is published and now available. (http://www.americantrailsstore.org/items/trailtales.html)
Significant Projects
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