Last summer I built my pond, well at least most of it but haven't finished landscaping the hillside above it yet. Always thought it needed something else and when I got a call from a friend that runs a trailer park a light came on and I now have a new project to work on.
I always liked the look of those arched bridges over streams or small ponds but I thought one that went over the narrow end of my pond would look cool. 44ft would clear it and I got a free 70ft trailer frame that had been cleaned off. I cut it off at 47ft in length, cut the crossmembers out of the inside put those on top of my dumptruck. It did stick out a bit on both ends, well a lot to be truthful but I only had to go down the road a couple of miles to get it home.
I flipped the sides so the wing braces on the outside now were on the inside and overlapped which made a very strong framework. I cut the sections of double frame off and used pieces of that to further reinforce the inside of the frame. I then had my son use autocad and arch a scale beam and figure out how much I needed to notch the frame to get the 4ft arch I wanted. I cut them out and jacked the ends up and welded it back together and also plated overtop of the welds for added strength.
I've been flipping it over to weld all the areas since I can weld best on flat surfaces so that excavator really came in handy. It's still in early stages and has to have crossbracing added in each section to control any sideways movement. Also still needes the center supports welded in for the decking. My plans are to screw treated 2x4 onto the top of the frame and center support channels then I can screw the treated decking boards to that. Haven't got far enough planned yet for the handrails but will add more pictures as it comes along.
When I got it flipped over even before all the welds on the frame were done it was quite strong. It'll be a walking only bridge and am really happy with the way it's turning out so far. My plans are to drill 2 18" holes on each side of the pond about 5-6ft deep and set anchor bolts so I can have plates on the bottom of the bridge to sit on and bolt it down. With solid anchors and the arch I think it should be more than strong enough to support foot traffic.
Topstrap
I always liked the look of those arched bridges over streams or small ponds but I thought one that went over the narrow end of my pond would look cool. 44ft would clear it and I got a free 70ft trailer frame that had been cleaned off. I cut it off at 47ft in length, cut the crossmembers out of the inside put those on top of my dumptruck. It did stick out a bit on both ends, well a lot to be truthful but I only had to go down the road a couple of miles to get it home.
I flipped the sides so the wing braces on the outside now were on the inside and overlapped which made a very strong framework. I cut the sections of double frame off and used pieces of that to further reinforce the inside of the frame. I then had my son use autocad and arch a scale beam and figure out how much I needed to notch the frame to get the 4ft arch I wanted. I cut them out and jacked the ends up and welded it back together and also plated overtop of the welds for added strength.
I've been flipping it over to weld all the areas since I can weld best on flat surfaces so that excavator really came in handy. It's still in early stages and has to have crossbracing added in each section to control any sideways movement. Also still needes the center supports welded in for the decking. My plans are to screw treated 2x4 onto the top of the frame and center support channels then I can screw the treated decking boards to that. Haven't got far enough planned yet for the handrails but will add more pictures as it comes along.
When I got it flipped over even before all the welds on the frame were done it was quite strong. It'll be a walking only bridge and am really happy with the way it's turning out so far. My plans are to drill 2 18" holes on each side of the pond about 5-6ft deep and set anchor bolts so I can have plates on the bottom of the bridge to sit on and bolt it down. With solid anchors and the arch I think it should be more than strong enough to support foot traffic.
Topstrap
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