Got asked to bid a very unusual project

[4570Man]

My first plan would be just leave it. The biggest danger would be eventually knocking the bridge down but that sounds like a bridge owner problem. If you actually did remove it I’d probably get an excavator and swamp mats. Just the transportation fees for the needed equipment will be high. Are their pockets deep enough or is this one of the times that the expectations and reality are a long was apart.

 

[4570Man]

Put in a temporary "floating barrier dam" to prevent dislodged debris from floating down river.

Rent a long arm boom excavator and proceed.

A long reach would be the ticket but you need a thumb to have any chance of getting the longs out not just dislodged. Finding a rental long reach with a thumb and close enough to reasonably transport would be extremely rare.

 

[paulsharvey]

Couple thoughts or observations; #1; are you allowed to work in the abandoned ROW? Rail roads typically take their property rights Very seriously. #2; assuming you want/get/take the job, I would try to winch individual pieces out, until the jab breaks up. I do think the crane would be the first choice, but I would worry about access. Maybe a Lull extendable off road forklift? Maybe with a claw on a chain, similar to what you use to move jersey barrier with a front-end loader?

 

[Hay Dude]

The logjam is within reach of an excavator boom? How deep is the river around it?

Otherwise I see a person on the pile attaching cables and a whole lot of winching. What harm is it causing - just aesthetics?

There’s 50’ of water and another 20’ of bank from where the machine sits. No boom can reach.

 

[Hay Dude]

We did some confined space training exercises lowering Public Works employees to the bottom of 50' deep sewer manholes to clear debris. See if your local swift water rescue team wants to do some dry suit training in body recovery. They could attach cables to the debris, and you could winch it in, as they look for the "victim". Of course, a sizable donation will help in their decision making.

Some of the debris is HUGE and quite water logged as you would suspect. If a log broke loose being towed by a raft, it could cause drowning or injury.
I think attaching a large object to a cable in strong water is dangerous. Even the crane with a grapple is scary

 

[Hay Dude]

Couple thoughts or observations; #1; are you allowed to work in the abandoned ROW? Rail roads typically take their property rights Very seriously. #2; assuming you want/get/take the job, I would try to winch individual pieces out, until the jab breaks up. I do think the crane would be the first choice, but I would worry about access. Maybe a Lull extendable off road forklift? Maybe with a claw on a chain, similar to what you use to move jersey barrier with a front-end loader?View attachment 848281

Not allowed to work of RR trestle bridge. It’s owned by the RR and they won’t allow it.
What is strange to me is that they would enforce this, yet not clean up the debris. I guess they aren’t required to?

 

[paulsharvey]

@Hay Dude what weapons do have available to work this with? A small dozer with a winch would work, if you can't get to the logs (scaffold boards from the bank to the logs maybe).

 

[Hay Dude]

My first plan would be just leave it. The biggest danger would be eventually knocking the bridge down but that sounds like a bridge owner problem. If you actually did remove it I’d probably get an excavator and swamp mats. Just the transportation fees for the needed equipment will be high. Are their pockets deep enough or is this one of the times that the expectations and reality are a long was apart.

They have deep pockets. They own the museum that the picture was taken from. They can’t leave it because the log jamb is causing a flooding problem to become worse. It’s obstructing water flow

 

[Hay Dude]

@Hay Dude what weapons do have available to work this with? A small dozer with a winch would work, if you can't get to the logs (scaffold boards from the bank to the logs maybe).

My idea from the “swampy” side (right side in the picture) would be to use a dozer & winch, but who the hell would be able to wrap the winch cable around logs under water with the pressure of all that water against them? It would be a suicide mission.

 

[paulsharvey]

Something like this Lull 1044-54 is a 10k lift capacity, and has "54 ft reach" but thats not Really the true story. It had 54 ft of vertical reach, probably less than 40 ft max extention forward of the outriggers, and to top that off, I'll bet it's under 800 lbs lift capacity at max extension forward...

A medium track hoe (PC-80-120), and two crane mats might work to get out there, but not really sure. I doubt a job like this pays nearly enough to justify a long reach hoe rental, even if they are available near you...