Building 2 Bridges

[FarmerD]

I've got to build 2 bridges over creeks on some newly acquired property in Georgia. The bridges need to span about 20 feet with the ability to support a semi truck to haul materials over to a stable. Is this something I can do myself???

I have access to some I beams, would this be the best material?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
FarmerD

 

[Army grunt]

Welcome to this great sight.
Where in Ga. I am in Elberton.
Army Grunt

 

[FarmerD]

1. Farm is in Jasper, GA - I live in Cumming, GA

2. I just utilized the search engine (which i should have done before asking the question) and found a great Bridge thread by LD1.

 

[MarkV]

I might be scared of do it yourself engineering when you are talking loaded semi's. Are the creeks such that you could put large culverts and fill?

MarkV

 

[MikeD74T]

I might be scared of do it yourself engineering when you are talking loaded semi's. Are the creeks such that you could put large culverts and fill? MarkV

The engineering is already done. Go to a similar bridge on a public road & measure what they used.

FarmerD, Loggers do that all the time & usually haul overloaded trucks with great success. You might even find a logger in your area that would build your bridge for you. MikeD74t

 

[LD1]

I dont know how I missed this thread:confused2:

But more details are needed to say for sure if I-beams is the most logical choice.

Details that include how deep is the crossing?
What is it crossing?? A stream? just a ravine? etc.

Somtimes it makes more sense to use a culvert or multiple culverts as opposed to a bridge.

And a semi is a LOT of weight. So a 20' bridge is going to have to be pretty stout and will likely be costly if done right.

Did you get the answers you were looking for in the other thread? How about an update for us all hanging here in suspense:thumbsup:

 

[Fixemall]

I have seen some mighty nice bridges constructed from 22" I beam and "loose decked" with switch ties recycled from the railroads, those same backroad bridges have been around for a while and can be taken out of service in a hour as seasons/needs change.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've got to build 2 bridges over creeks on some newly acquired property in Georgia. The bridges need to span about 20 feet with the ability to support a semi truck to haul materials over to a stable. Is this something I can do myself???

I have access to some I beams, would this be the best material?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
FarmerD

I just saw this thread too.

A semi can weigh up to 80,000 pounds before it needs a permit. The length of it, and the weight on each set of axles as it crosses th bridge will change as it crosses the bridge.

With these kinds of numbers, you are asking the wrong question. While you can figure out how much weight an I beam can carry over the span of the bridge, what you cannot figure out is the size of the footings to support that load. You have to understand the soil that you have there, and it takes an Engineer to figure this out. How deep do you have to go? How wide and how deep do the footings have to be? How much rebar, how far apart, what sized rebar and how it has to be arranged is also something that you will have to find out from an engineer.

Guessing this isn't something you want to do with anything that big and expensive crossing your bridge. If it fails, YOU will be responsible for all damages to that vehicle, it's cargo and more importantly, any injuries to the driver and those involved.

DO NOT DO THIS ON YOUR OWN!!!!

Eddie

 

[hunterridgefarm]

I've got to build 2 bridges over creeks on some newly acquired property in Georgia. The bridges need to span about 20 feet with the ability to support a semi truck to haul materials over to a stable. Is this something I can do myself???

I have access to some I beams, would this be the best material?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
FarmerD

I have a couple of creeks we need to cross but not quite 20' on some other property we own. I have not started the project but contacted the Army Corps of Engineers for my state and the Soil and Water Conservation department for my county. They offer a free service where they will come to the site and tell you what you need. In my case I want to put in culverts and they will tell you what size you need and how to do the fill. They determine the flow rate of the creek as it is, plus the flow rate due to floods and the type of vehicles that will cross. The best part is its free.

Just another option.

 

[beeforty]

I had to put in a bridge on my property and needed it engineered, because if the local fire department doesn't think it is strong enough they WON'T cross it with their trucks I don't know what the cost is but you might look into bottomless culverts or arch plate culverts, on attachment, scroll down to Arch (single radius) spans 6'-20', or Low or High profile arch for 20' up. Came across this idea from local TV about a bridge replacement, fish and game love these as you don't disturb the creek bed and you can put in precast slotted concrete blocks for the arch to rest on then back fill. No experience with them but seemed like a good alternative.

http://www.contech-cpi.com/DesktopM...re_Download&EntryId=8850&PortalId=0&TabId=144

 

[gghb]

afternoon in my area railroad flat cars are availble and very easy to set if you have the equipment but the permiting is imposible anymore the salmon gestapo controls all water in western washington even repairing is very difficult.
Greg

 

[edlegault]

Surplus railroad flatbed cars are strong enough to drive an army tank across. I have read of loggers using them for quick, non-intrusive temporary bridges across streams (when my dad was alive and a logger we used to just drive through the creeks). After the Northridge earthquake in LA in the '90's Caltrans stacked railroad flatbed cars to build temporary overpasses. Would need a crane to set in place (can't drag them through the crick). And ideally would need a concrete abutment on each side to set upon for permanent bridge. But just setting on the banks might be ok for temp.

 

[pilot-werx]

I am with Eddie on this one... Our tanker rolls down the road at a 100k and the last thing I would want to do is cross a DIY bridge. Have it designed and be done with it.....

 

[Depmandog]

You might consider military surplus. The specs on these are available, which should lower your engineering costs for the supports.

Not sure where you can locate them, but I have known a few who have purchased them for similar situations.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I'm facing a similar situation and am (still) hoping to find a "flat rack" shipping container to use for the bridge. These are typically in the 20K kg to 30K kg load capacity range. My plan for abutment was actually none. Because a 20 ft. deck is significantly longer than my span, I intend to support the bridge on I-beam driven piles with an I-beam (welded) horizontal support on each end and leave natural streambanks underneath (fortunately the bridge is in a stable area).
Unfortunately, while it is really easy to come by shipping containers, flat racks are a lot harder to get ahold of.
My fallback plan is a semi or wrecker flatbed, but I haven't found one of those, yet either...thank goodness my existing bridge hasn't yet deteriorated to the point where I MUST replace it right away!
BOB

 

[mscheer772]

To get something like a bridge installed in Wisconsin over a stream bed that is one foot across at it's widest (without any fish species to deal with), would take a $40,000 engineering study for starters. Ask me how I know this?