Building my tractor bridge across the creek

[deezler]

Does it freeze where you’re at? I’d be concerned with lateral sliding. A 4x4 on each side could help.

I'm also from Michigan.... you know the answer to this, lol. You mean sliding around on top of the bridge when driving? Well right now the bridge is basically dead level, so hopefully that wont be too scary. But I probably wont cross the bridge with the tractor much in the winter. We'll see.

 

[deezler]

Re: Starting the Decking

I have to do exactly the same, telephone poles over the creek. My creek is a bit wider, banks higher and my tractor is a MX with a bh so, kinda heavy! Next summer I will be asking questions!

Turns out they replace the power line poles every so often and I have 2 that are coming down.

I asked, can I buy the poles, appx 50 ft each. He said they would give them to me!

Score! 2 50-fts means 4 nice 25 footers, hopefully that covers your span. But possibly marginal on safe, long term capacity for an 8000-10000lb machine on such a span.... ?

I had one old unused pole on my property already (a house up by the road burned down way back in the 80s and they left this service pole, middle one in my bridge). And the outer poles on my bridge were from one new pole that I cut in half before hauling back. The power company randomly left it laying in the ditch in front of a neighbors house for close to a year before I said screw it, I'm removing this rude eyesore and went and nabbed it. Feel free to admonish me, but it seems clear they either didn't truly need it, or had forgotten about it.

 

[oosik]

I have a water drainage area that I cross to get to a high meadow. It's where my little lake drains into my big lake. No bridge here - it's 120 feet across. I've decided to line the crossing point with "fist sized" stone. Build up the crossing so it's not just mud. A firm bottom and a foot of water, during the spring wet season, will be no problem.

All other times the crossing area is dry & dusty.

I like the OP's bridge and can appreciate the work it took to get it finished.

 

[TractorGuy]

Really nice looking bridge!

A wooden bridge is the ultimate in a sexy creek crossing but I think I would have rolled a couple culverts in the creek and commenced to hauling dirt, gravel, or some other fill to fill in around and over them.

 

[LouNY]

That is a good looking bridge and quite functional.
Culverts can and do work for some flows. However they do get washed out at times with regularity,
mainly from getting plugging by debris washing downstream in unusual events.
While bridges can be washed out it is not as frequent as culverts.
If I was needing to put in a bridge I would be looking seriously at flat deck or drop deck over the road trailers,
they can be gotten for a reasonable cost at times and can do a considerable span and a pair of them side by side with have a good load capacity.
Or a long one could be cut in half for a shorter span.

 

[deezler]

I mean, if you look at the area underneath my bridge, thats how big a culvert I would need. Probably like 5 or 6' diameter.... not really within my capabilities, or budget.

This creek is pretty dynamic. Normally stays pretty low, but then can go to like a 20-30x flow volume. Also lots of debris and sticks/logs coming down it when its flowing hard.

 

[Mat4644]

Many of my 2X6 deck boards rotted out in 12 years time. Even with repeated stains. For something like a bridge it pays to order CCA lumber or pay a small premium and get the critical structure increased treated lumber.

 

[LouNY]

Many of my 2X6 deck boards rotted out in 12 years time. Even with repeated stains. For something like a bridge it pays to order CCA lumber or pay a small premium and get the critical structure increased treated lumber.

Good use for old motor oil, brush it on heavy.
A person can also lay out some used conveyor belting for a traction surface.

 

[deezler]

Many of my 2X6 deck boards rotted out in 12 years time. Even with repeated stains. For something like a bridge it pays to order CCA lumber or pay a small premium and get the critical structure increased treated lumber.

My 2x6 boards here are already almost 20 years old... Some are more solid than others, but they're still going strong, in general.

 

[Mat4644]

My 2x6 boards here are already almost 20 years old... Some are more solid than others, but they're still going strong, in general.

You did good. They are most likely old treatment standards. I will never buy standard treated lumber and will special order from now on.