I need a new BRIDGE!!!

[jjinks]

Look in to a swinging type bridge Joseph Dice built many in Mo. They are around a hundred years old I have seen a dump truck towing a backhoe cross one no problem. They consist of concrete footings up to road grade,post on top of footings then strands of #9 Bridge wire laid side by side to form a cable around 40 -60 Strands usually. The strands are woven around a series of steel pins then encased in a concrete footing laid about 20' back from the first footings. Then use more wire to suspend the stringers from the main cables lay on those joists running from footing to footing. Then deck with local lumber.

 

[bradm64]

And now the update.....
Today we met at the bridge. Present were the land owner, a friend who runs a commercial bridge building company, a bridge builder who specializes in rr flatcars, and a few other good friends. I really need to post some pix here so that you get a better idea what we're up against. We discussed numerous options, going high, going low, I beams, H beams, locust stringers, and rr flatcars.

The landowner feels strongly about building a low water bridge. This is due in part to the tremendous flooding that we get and that building a high water bridge would be $$$$$ expensive. The existing low water bridge was built in 1946 and the stringers have never washed out.

Thus, at the end we agreed that the best approach was to put a 60' rr flatcar across the stream resting it on H beam pilings encased in concrete on each side. The builder will provide us with a turn key proposal and his initial thought was it would be in the 20k range. I will let you know when I get the actual proposal. All in all a great day.

Sounds like an interesting project - please take photos and post for us to see how your project goes. When I find time, I'll scan some photos of the bridge built to get into my place and post them. We only had to span about 35 feet, so a rr car was overkill for my use.

It was done in 2000, and the photos are not digital......

 

[Mike476]

$20k turn key as in the flatcar, concrete / backfill and labour. No small chunk of change but sure takes the edge off some of the previous estimates you were working with, a great day indeed.

 

[chrisw212000]

14' X 70' Truss Bridge

 

[HCJtractor]

I just saw that bridge on Craigslist and thought it would be interesting. Probably not a bad deal if someone had the time, knowledge, and a crane to reassemble it. Wonder how someone came to own this bridge and wonder if it has been disassembled??? One of you guys should buy it and write a very interesting thread about re-building it. (maybe you could sell the right to name it!)

 

[Rowdy Raven]

Site Report
So we went to the rail yard and took a look at the flatcar. It is a 60 foot car that is 9.5' wide and 31" high at the high point which is the middle 30 feet. On one corner there is some damage where the car derailed. We talked with the contractor and devised a plan to install the flatcar using H beams and lots of concrete on the ends. It would be free span across the river. The flatcar weighs in at 44k pounds. The wood decking needs to be replaced. For this I have been looking at using Marston Matting which is military surplus landing matting. We will install this with a slight tilt to the upstream side because while the bridge will not go underwater often it will go under a couple of times a year. The contractor plans to have about 30-36" inches from normal flow to the bottom of the "bridge." Any thoughts?

 

[bcp]

I've seen some Marston Matting that was used like that. It bent down between supports after a while. It was made to lie on the ground with no span strength designed into it. That was so long ago I don't remember what type of loads were using it, just that it sagged between supports.

Bruce

 

[Rowdy Raven]

Update on the bridge project. Below are two shots of the original bridge built in 1946. These pictures were made just before we actually removed the bridge, now we just have a big hole in the river. In a couple of weeks the flatcar will be brought in to span the river. I will post pix as we move through the installation process.

 

[s219]

Cool, thanks for the update!

 

[Hollow]

Good to see what you've been talking about! That bridge looks like its seen its better days. Good luck, I can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[rsewill]

Thanks for the pics.

 

[Rowdy Raven]

Well folks, we have a bridge! This past week the contractor made it to the river and in less than a day we had a bridge installed across the river. The contractor brought a large excavator with him to install the 60' flatcar. In just a few hours he had unloaded the flatcar, placed it across the river, dug the footings, installed the H Beams, and poured the 30 yards of concrete. What a day, it really went well and everyone was really pleased with the end result. Next is the re-decking project. We are going to use Marston mats which will be bolted to the superstructure of the the flatcar.

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[Tractor Seabee]

Well folks, we have a bridge! This past week the contractor made it to the river and in less than a day we had a bridge installed across the river. The contractor brought a large excavator with him to install the 60' flatcar. In just a few hours he had unloaded the flatcar, placed it across the river, dug the footings, installed the H Beams, and poured the 30 yards of concrete. What a day, it really went well and everyone was really pleased with the end result. Next is the re-decking project. We are going to use Marston mats which will be bolted to the superstructure of the the flatcar.

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Rowdy,

This thread has gone a long ways since you/we first started back when. I appreciate you taking time to consider my recommendation. I am real pleased it turnrd out well for you, now I can relate to two successful uses of flat cars for bridges. It really looks good now it is finished and portends to give you long and faithfull service. Take a long look at the Marston matting idea, that stuff is fairly thin and has a tendency to bow both directions under load. It was only emgineered for one-time and very short term uses. The military always abandond it in place. We used it in Vietnam and a few trips over it by tanks and trucks and it was scrap iron.

Ron

 

[kebo]

Nice looking bridge!! Glad you got it in place with no trouble, and ready for the decking now. I hope this bridge lasts as long as, or even longer than the original bridge. That way, you all can let your grandkids deal with replacing it next time around lol!

 

[mjw357]

Looks good! Are you going to cut those pilings off flush with the bridge deck, or leave them stick up?

 

[Rowdy Raven]

Thanks folks, I really appreciate your input and advice with this project. We are probably going to cut the pilings off in the weeks ahead as we get the decking in place. More pics soon!:thumbsup:

 

[vtsnowedin]

Rowdy,

This thread has gone a long ways since you/we first started back when. I appreciate you taking time to consider my recommendation. I am real pleased it turnrd out well for you, now I can relate to two successful uses of flat cars for bridges. It really looks good now it is finished and portends to give you long and faithfull service. Take a long look at the Marston matting idea, that stuff is fairly thin and has a tendency to bow both directions under load. It was only emgineered for one-time and very short term uses. The military always abandond it in place. We used it in Vietnam and a few trips over it by tanks and trucks and it was scrap iron.

Ron

I'm a late comer to this thread and I have to say you have done a great job of researching your options and executing a good workable solution. I expect that you will end up with wood decking for now as that is the cheapest that will serve and you're most likely already at the bottom of your check book. When that wood, or the military mats wears out you might want to consider precasting four inch thick concrete deck planks with wire mesh reinforcement. A flat piece of ground with a sheet of poly on it will serve as a bottom form and 2x4s and some pins will form the edges. Cast in some lifting loops and make then as wide as your largest tractor loader can handle safely. A four foot by ten foot by four inch thick plank would weight less then a ton and you could make 72 feet of them from a load of concrete. Leave some re-bar or mesh sticking up out of them on the edges and cast a curb with a couple of lines of no. 4 re bar down each side to tie them all together.
Just a suggestion. I hope your bridge serves you well for decades and again nicely done.

 

[MarkV]

Thanks for the update. Looks like you have done a great job.

MarkV

 

[Hollow]

Looks great, congratulations! However I would strongly suggest not using marston mats. They are made to spread the weight of something in all directions, not bridging from one cross member to the next. If you want to use metal I would suggest a bar grating.

 

[crazyal]

My step brother used PT 2x4 standing on edge for decking. It's been 15 years now and it's as strong today as it was the day he built it. He bought up as many 2nds as he could find and just nailed them all together. What ever you do just make sure it's fastened well to the steel.