Home-Built Light Duty Bridge

Home-Built Light Duty Bridge MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 24-2-36 I used an old 9-ton, 3-axle trailer to build a light duty bridge for my friend, who operates a bed and breakfast on his farm. He already had a wooden 9-ft. wide, 22-ft. long bridge that was designed for pedestrians, light vehicles and horse-drawn wagons, but he wanted it replaced. The steel-framed trailer had been used to carry a backhoe towed behind a dump truck. I removed the trailer's fenders and front and rear axles. I also cut the center axle from the frame and then chained it back into place so that the trailer could be moved to its new location. I installed five rows of pressure-treated wood planks the length of the frame and 2-in. thick Hemlock planks at each end. We planned to cover the remaining 12 ft. in the middle with the decking from the old bridge. The bridge was then loaded onto a trailer and transported 80 miles to my friend's farm. There, we removed the deck deck from the old bridge and pushed the new bridge across the timbers. A big skid steer loader was then used to lift one end of the deck so that the axle could be unchained and rolled out. Then the center of the bridge was re-decked. The new bridge deck is 10 ft. wide and 22 ft. long and has a 5-ft. high railing on each side. (Hudson Wilson, 14776 Hwy. 50, Rt. 2, Bolton, Ontario, Canada L7E 5R8 ph 905 857-8768).

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