Re-Decking a Bridge

[jml755]

20 ft long & ?? ft wide? Bust it up with a small sledge and use a decent set of bolt cutters or angle grinder to cut the mesh. Shouldn't take long. Most of the smaller pieces will fall into the creek Just have a helper grab the stuff that is suspended by the mesh when you cut it. I busted up a 4' x 16' x 4" thick sidewalk slab in about 4 hrs by myself over the course of 2 days just last fall. That included removing the material by wheelbarrow and putting it in my pickup bed. And I'm 60 yrs old. LOL. Granted, there was no rebar or wire mesh, but as I said before, wire mesh is easy to deal with. I used the broken material as rip-rap around a culvert on my property to control erosion on the up-flow side.

If you can, stick a pry bar under the slab if it's resting on non-rotted decking to give the concrete a place to move when you smack it. A concrete saw will take a lot longer and be a lot messier than just whacking it with a sledge. I've used concrete saws to get a nice clean line where I wanted to save part of a slab and demo the rest, but as for using one to cut into manageable pieces? Forget it.

BTW, if you want to keep the smaller stuff out of the creek, suspend a plastic tarp underneath and bungee cord it to the pipes.

 

[sandman2234]

I was reading this post, waiting to see if anybody picked up on what was discribed as a "Darwin Moment". I agree totally.
Getting me to put a tractor on a wooden decked bridge that already has rotting problems showing up, to remove a concrete overlay, is just a little past my risk factor. I have been known to do some hairbrained things in my lifetime, but I don't think that would be one of them. The chances of damaging an already weak wood floor is just too great while handling pieces of concrete big enough to warrant a bucket on a tractor. A wheel barrow, maybe, but we all know how much fun those things can be.
Hopefully the picture I have drawn in my mind isn't accurate and you can find a reasonable way to attack it.
Remember safety first!!
David from jax

 

[mjncad]

Well if you're willing to rent the mini-ex with a concrete breaker, than that is the way I'd go. Just keep any heavy machinery off that bridge deck to avoid the Darwin moment.

Pictures of your project would help everyone to help you.

 

[Western]

Well if you're willing to rent the mini-ex with a concrete breaker, than that is the way I'd go. Just keep any heavy machinery off that bridge deck to avoid the Darwin moment.

Pictures of your project would help everyone to help you.

X's 2
I recommended the Jackhammer be cause it was the "cheapest" thing if you where to rent, since OP had said "rental was out of the budget". Nothing like the right tool for sure.

 

[forgeblast]

+1 on the darwin moment, I can see using the saw or jackhammer and hitting a brace or something.
Maby use the jackhammer or bucked to break up the pieces and then cut the mesh with bolt cutters. How far down is it to the creek, do you need to rope yourselves in if the mesh gives way?