Another Bridge!

[Wayne_H]

I didn't comment but was thinking Wayne is a lucky guy. Can only imagine my wife's reaction if told to dig footings and pour concrete

Yea, actually it was a great team effort, we both worked like crazy! Can't wait for this weekend to put some wood down. Bolts arrived yesterday. Good excuse to get up early Saturday morning!

Wayne

 

[Wayne_H]

OK, today was a great day. I got up at 0500 and starting cutting the 2x6x12's into 72" lengths. I also installed the 1/4" steel braces just so this thing does not decide to flop over. The W14x22 steel is 14" high, but the flat part is 5".

To do the deck, I installed 2x6 along the entire length of the steel. Every 6' I put a horizontal 4"x6"x8' for the railing. I used 3/8 inch galvanized bolts to secure it. That took a few minutes to install the wood to the steel. ... I had to drill 50 3/8 inch holes in the steel. Thank God for 18 volt dewalt drills and the drill doctor to keep the bits sharp.

The deck went down FAST. Kenny D suggested I buy the dewalt DC825KA 1/4 in 18V Cordless impact driver. What a beast! The thing is small, light weight, and is FAST!!!! Must have an RC car engine in it or something. Great tool.

OK, here are a few pics. Next step is to figure out railings.

 

[rekees4300]

Lookin' good Wayne! :thumbsup: A few minutes to drill 50 holes in steel ... must have used a laser drill bit!? Did you attach the I-beams to the footings or not necessary?

 

[Wayne_H]

The beams rest on the footings. I thought about putting J bolts in the footings and doing that, but this thing is so heavy I can't imagine it will be an issue. And getting that lined up with 30 foot beams....

For the 3/8" holes, I drilled a pilot 3/16" pilot hole with a commercial stubby bit, then use the 7/16" to bore it out. Actually went well, but I havw red marks now on my shoulder and belly from putting weight on the drill. I ended up with two of the DeWalt drills, so I did not have to change bits too often.

Wayne

 

[joes_427_vette]

What do you figure the weight limit is for machinery crossing the bridge ? If I built one I would check into a flat bed semi trailer and trim to size. That way I could get the bachhoe over it without holding my breath. Not as scenic as yours but a little more rugged. Did you have to get any permits ? Where I am they require a couple, county and DNR. Seperate permits for each crossing on the same stream. Costs are in my opinion outrageous.

 

[kennyd]

Looking good Wayne:thumbsup:

 

[Thomas]

Nice very nice.

 

[Wayne_H]

What do you figure the weight limit is for machinery crossing the bridge ? If I built one I would check into a flat bed semi trailer and trim to size. That way I could get the bachhoe over it without holding my breath. .

Well the steel is W14x22. It is vertical portion is 14" high, the horizontals are 5". It does not flex or move with the RTV on it, and that weighs 2000 pounds. A large CUT would have no problems, I'm guessing it would hold 8k easily.

Wayne

 

[rd_macgregor]

I wondered about buying a marine shipping container and cutting the top off. I don't know if the walls/roof affect the strength of the floor. Better would be to find a "flat rack" shipping container (basically a regular container without the sides and roof). If I remember correctly, these containers are rated at something like 30 tons. Regular containers usually come in 20ft and 40 ft lengths. I've heard that the longer ones are even sometimes cheaper than the shorter, because the 20 footers are more in demand. Also, I think you can get one in the US for roughly $2000...sadly, I haven't come anywhere near that price out here in the Canadian hinterlands.

An alternative pre-fab bridge would be a deck from a trailer or flatbed truck that has been wrecked or otherwise become disabled.

I'm still shopping around in hopes of finding a ready-made solution so I won't have to buy and put all the pieces together myself...though it looks like you and your wife did a great job.
BOB

 

[Wayne_H]

OK, I had some 3/16" plate laying around, so I made up some triangle plates to bolt the vertical supports for the rail. I put two plates per post with four 4" lags in each. Actually went quite well!

Wayne