How strong is my wooden bridge?

[davrow]

Culverts come in different gauges thus different cover requirements.

I thought the rule was 50% of the pipe diameter, regardless of size of pipe. 18" pipe needs (proper bedding) and 9" cover over it. 60" pipe needs 30", etc.

Hm, maybe I was only reading about concrete or HDPE... but I thought it was a universal rule.

 

[newbury]

Drew -
Here's what you need

Bridge headwalls for building bridge / culvert - $4500 (Front Royal VA)

ｩ craigslist - Map data ｩ OpenStreetMap
(google map) (yahoo map)

I have one pair of new bridge headwalls that measure approximately 14'
-6" long, 5' high, with 2' footings. They have a pair of 30" culvert pipes that are offset 4' from one another. The pair includes the adapter bands for attaching to your culvert pipe. They can be spaced out as will as needed to accomadate your situation. They cost $16,000 new for the pair. Email with questions or call Walt at show contact info Thanks.
do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers

Bridge headwalls for building bridge / culvert

 

[MacLawn]

I think y'all boys are over thinking old daug's need to get his tractor on other side of ditch. I'd be over there already, on ye current bridge. How much ye tractor weigh daug?

 

[bcp]

If you only need across in the dry season, one time, drop a couple of bucket loads of dirt in the ditch and drive across. Do it again next year if needed.

Bruce

 

[MossRoad]

Or carve ramps into and out of the banks on both sides and just ford it

 

[daugen]

This weekend I intend to go under that bridge again, this time armed with a drill and a long bit.
Think I might do a little more than poke.
particularly if I have someone to watch for snakes...

Going to go up and down each beam and do a proper inspection, determine how badly rotted each one is. If two of them are ok, which I doubt, they probably could hold the three ton tractor all by themselves. Figuring weight with FEL and ballast box. Some of the beams show rot in the middle and some in the end. For excitement potential I think I'm more worried about the rot in the middle, but long term, all that rot has to be dealt with. I guess what I really don't know is there enough wood left to have adequate strength. If I put that six inch drill in there and it keeps on going, not good at all. But I will try from the other side also, but I don't care how big the beam is, if it's half rotten, short of an Indiana Jones movie stunt, I'm not going over it.

so remembering my desire not to be one with the forest animals on this one, I'm going to move right along, and concentrate first on the worst areas and see if they are immediate deal killers. If not, I'll keep drilling.

these beams are so big my little drill holes aren't going to hurt anything. I'm hoping I hit that old locust and the drill struggles.
I'll take more pictures of the worst areas too. And measurements of where the rot is.

sound like a plan?

I figure ho matter what I need to stop the decay if that is possible.
How about a hundred pounds of GitRot...

 

[daugen]

Or carve ramps into and out of the banks on both sides and just ford it

hmmmmm
that's a very good idea
I don't have a backhoe, but I do have this...
Tree Spade
or maybe this is the excuse to rent that little Cat mini excavator from the rental dealer nearby.

Ramps are yet another form of a ditch in their own way, so I would have to be careful with where I funnel water, but
as something simple, safe, and low cost, ramps have a lot of appeal. It would only be for the tractor; the wooden bridge should be, or so I will find out, fine for the UTV and golf cart if one goes slowly. Or likely fast too...:confused3::dance1:

I could get the Gravely down and up the ramps too; important consideration for my prime small workhorse pulling a trailer. And if there's that much rain, and yes we get a bunch of three inchers, to get water in the ditch, for sure, I mean absolutely sure, I'm not going to be back working in the woods and need to ford the raging ditch to get home. Actually a tractor has quite a bit of clearance but the idea of a water moccasin swimming in my cab is a bit disconcerting.

 

[MossRoad]

The fun thing about ramps..... ZOOM - SPLASH!!! :laughing:

 

[bcp]

 

[daugen]

I watched the whole thing, er, no I didn't, I just couldn't watch that guy learn to use his FEL, painful to watch. And it was like he was playing with his food instead of eating it...
but yeah, perfect idea to stabilize the creek bed in that area. And I can get a small dump truck back there.

Going to be dropping some trees to make the path back to the pond, and if they are hardwood, I'll drag them out for firewood.
Not sure what to do with pine. I know, make a bridge...