Bridging a Creek

[glennmac]

I need to bridge a creek to get to get to 8 acres of my land (the working of which being a justification for my recent B2910 purchase).

The creek meanders through flat land, composed of soft soil. It is like a wetland. The channel is about 3 to 3 1/2 feet deep and the width varies from 6 to 10 feet. It overflows slightly maybe every 3 years, and the channel will alter slightly after high waters (the bank cutting away slightly and redepositing).

I have 2 bridging methods in mind and would appreciate any other thoughts. This bridge needs to support the weight of my tractor, and tow trucks to rescue me from my bogs. Also, the only work force is me and my tractor. Not hiring someone to do these jobs was, again, justification for these projects.

The first potential method would be to lay two 20' telephone poles across the creek and to nail 2x6's across them. I guess I would try to bury the poles in shallow trenches. This raises the issue of how to manipulate the poles across an acre of land and get them across the creek and positioned.

Second, is to try to drop into the channel a 12' length of that plastic culvert pipe and cover it over with stone or some other kind of fill. The pipe will be easy to roll around, although I may have to cut the channel with a hand shovel to get it staight. This method raises the issue of whether is it strong enough to support vehicles, and whether the water try to channel around the culvert through the soft soil.

Thoughts would be appreciated.

Glenn

 

[gordon]

Glenn there is some great info on this link for both road building and crossings---http://willow.ncfes.umn.edu/accessroads/accessroads.htmMight give you a few more idas hope this helps
Gordon

 

[scruffy]

How about a ready made 20 foot flat bed trailer (old truck trailer)? They can be found for next to nothing, and if the wheels are still on it, locating it would be a cinch, as well as 'sinking' (burying) the ends to make it level.
You would not disturb the waterway to any extent, and it would definately support your tractor. Up north, railroad flatcars are quite frequently used. The problem with wood, is it will need to be replaced down the road due to rot.

 

[Bird]

glennmac, my brother had his tank ("pond" to you Yankees) enlarged considerably this past winter and left an island. He plans to use two 28' utility poles as you mentioned, and 2 x 6s to make a foot bridge to the island. He will get onto the island first with a small boat, then pull one end of the poles over with a come-along attached to a tree on the island. Can you cross that creek and attach a winch of some sort to something to pull one end of your poles across? And of course, the B2910 can pull the poles down to the creek. I'm afraid I'd always wonder when the wood was going to rot enough to drop me and my tractor in the water. I think in your situation, I'd consider a large culvert (or even two culverts) as the preferable choice.

Bird

 

[TomG]

In fact, there's a 40' flat bed trailer used as a bridge not far from us. We did think about using one for a deck on our 40' construction trailer. However, the tires and running gear on an available logging trailer weren't quite bad enough. You can buy quite a few building materials for what any sort of serviceable axles and tires are worth.

 

[scruffy]

TomG, I wasn't suggesting leaving the running gear on. They can be resold, or better yet, deal with the seller for the bed alone w/out running gear/tires.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I built an arched bridge across the stream at the back of my property to allow access to my land on the other side. The bridge has a 28 ft span as well as ramps at both ends, for a total of 44 ft. It is 5 feet wide and made out of 2x4 pressure treated lumber with 2x6 pressure treated decking. The lumber was laminated with epoxy and screws to make the beams. I drive my B2400 across the bridge without any problems. If you would like further details and some pictures (before the railing was put on) go to:

http://www.connix.com/~aboursy/bridge.html

A bridge like this may be more of project than you are planning.

Andy

 

[glennmac]

Andy, that's a beautiful bridge, stream and property.

I have an arched bridge over my creek. I had it built by the Pennsylvania Dutch carpenters, who also built my gazebo. The bridge is 16 feet long and was supposed to be 60" between the railings. I had a lawn tractor in mind when I ordered it.

Problem is, it is only 54" between the railings. This bridge limited my tractor choice decision for a long time. I could have gotten a 2410 over it (with no room to spare) but not a 60" mower. Then I decided the heck with the bridge and bought my 2910. Now nothing fits over the bridge, and hence I am posting about a vehicle bridge.

Well, I still have a pretty footbridge near my gazebo and swing, and I can build an ugly vehicle bridge farther downstream.

I have thought about the trailer bed approach, but I don't know where to look for one. Actually, I did find one by chance at a dealer, but it had about a zillion tons of axles and wheels and flat tires and rotted flooring.

 

[Keoke]

Gordon, address for bridge building tips doesn't seem to work. Could you give it another try?

Thanks,
george

 

[jyoutz]

Don't know how much you can spend. We use old railroad flatcars for logging truck bridges. We use precast concrete abutments which are just set into place on the ground to make the entire system temporary and portable. For log trucks we have to deck the cars with wood to get the desired width, but you wouldn't need to for your use. Sometimes you can pick these up for a few thousand $, and sometimes not-just depends on what's available