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Portable Bridges

Started by Wudman, November 12, 2019, 11:53:15 AM

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Wudman

We routinely use portable bridges for stream crossings here in Virginia.  Most of my contractors have access to a set (or two).  The pictures below are crossing an intermittent stream on the skid trail.









We lay poles on the edges of the bridge to keep slash out of the channel.  These bridges can support the weight of a loaded truck on a haul road as well.  These bridges are 40 feet in total length. 





Slash is added to the approaches to minimize compaction and provide for erosion control.





Here they are being used to cross a natural gas pipeline.  The pipeline company allows us to place them over the line and skid across.

Wudman

 
"You may tear down statues and burn buildings but you can't kill the spirit of patriots and when they've had enough this madness will end."
Charlie Daniels
July 4, 2020 (2 days before his death)

Gearbox

You are lucky here gas pipes they want 3 feet of fill then bridges . Thank you for using best logging practice .
A bunch of chainsaws a BT6870 processer , TC 5 International track skidder and not near enough time

Ron Scott

That's generally the practice here also.
~Ron

Texas Ranger

Loggers in Texas use oil field mats, can cover pipelines and wet ground.  Not so much bridging
The Ranger, home of Texas Forestry

Randy88

Curious, what do the bridge panels themselves look like?   What do they have for gussets under them for strength?

Also how deep are the pipelines you need to have mats or bridging over to cross them, around here you can drive over any pipeline without doing anything to protect them unless they are too shallow. 

tacks Y

Local company here makes steel ones with guard rails. Hinged in the middle open and pin. They go all over this country.

mike_belben

Ive hauled these out of peachland NC.  Edwards lumber off 74 makes em for "yak-mat" who is jones group out of missouri i think. 

Must be pretty good as dozens of truckloads went to a project in massachusetts with $2500 freight bill per truck.
Praise The Lord

Wudman

Quote from: Randy88 on December 01, 2019, 05:19:59 AM
Curious, what do the bridge panels themselves look like?   What do they have for gussets under them for strength?

Also how deep are the pipelines you need to have mats or bridging over to cross them, around here you can drive over any pipeline without doing anything to protect them unless they are too shallow.
The structural components of these bridges are 8" steel I-beams.  They are skinned with 1/4 inch plate.  The panels are built in 4 foot wide sections so they can be moved and placed with a grapple skidder.  The depth on these gas lines tends to vary.  Most are 4 to 8 feet in the ground, but I have seen some that were shallower.  The owner of them plays a role in the difficulty to cross.  Some companies are easy to deal with, while others take an act of congress to get across.  This particular owner isn't too bad.  They fly the line on a regular basis, so you will get a visit if you don't contact them on the front end.
Wudman 
"You may tear down statues and burn buildings but you can't kill the spirit of patriots and when they've had enough this madness will end."
Charlie Daniels
July 4, 2020 (2 days before his death)

Randy88

Wudman, thanks for the explanation on how the bridges are built.    

As for the pipelines, that's completely different than in my state, no contact is ever needed unless your digging near one, anyone can drive over them with anything at any weight as many times as they'd like without contacting them at all.    I've got farmers routinely going over pipelines with machines in excess of 150,000 lbs and its legal to do so and unless your deep ripping fields, ordinary tillage doesn't require contact with any pipeline company.  

Unless their line is less than 15 inches deep, they are not required to tell the landowner how shallow it is either, I know of three places locally a high pressure gas pipeline is above ground and exposed in farmers fields, one is even exposed in a creek, its up in the air high enough you can walk under it, has been like that for almost two decades now.   

I'd be curious to know why any pipeline would care if your moving tree's across the line on a skid road in your state when these three and four axle manure tankers pulled by huge four wheel drive tractors and  the larger grain carts, some almost 1500 bushels can cross them in my state and most lines are not even four feet deep and have no issues.    

I wonder if in your area there is so much rock the line is bedded in, they are concerned the added weight will cause a rock to puncture their line?

OntarioAl

Randy
Your last comment hit the nail on the head.
rocks damaging the protective sheathing or penetration with a resulting big boom.
We also have issues with frost penetration so all  crossings are approved by the pipeline company .
Temporary crossings use swamp matts roads require excavation and burying the pipe in beach sand  corduroy matt on top of sand then at least 2 feet of gravel.
cheers
Al 
Al Raman

Randy88

So in essence the pipeline companies never installed their lines correctly and now they are passing the costs and liability of this onto those who are going to cross their lines and those states are not stepping up to the plate and addressing this issue, and allow the liability and expense to be passed onto those who need to cross the lines??

Also curious, if their recommendations are followed, and the one's crossing them pay for the added costs, if something were to happen, are those crossing them still liable, or who pays for damage??

OntarioAl

They are engineered crossings put in under the supervision of the pipeline representatives (usually 2 on site ) once in place to their satisfaction its the pipelines baby
Cheers
Al
Al Raman

BargeMonkey

 We have a large one about 3 miles away, I don't think its too deep, clearing contractor got it about 5yrs ago and it was hundreds of thousands not counting the cost to fix it, local FD's where very well compensated. Im working directly under the high voltage transmission lines running to just outside Albany right now on this job, they fly over checking the lines weekly and if you get close to a tower they will let you know. We are looking to buy our own 30-40' 3x section steel bridges, ive got a set of wooden 20s now that work well and have them on a job currently. We go for the yearly pipeline dinner, unless your the very basic clueless homeowner is about the only way your getting out of being hammered with fines anymore if you don't call 811, fencing contractor outside Albany pounded a post thru a fiber optic transmission line and it about put him under. 

Wudman

We also use these same bridges on haul roads for truck traffic.  This is from a job we are currently working in Brunswick County, VA.



 



 

That's natural stone that was relocated along the right of way to help stabilize banks.  The approaches will be seeded and straw mulched along with a few straw bales within the next couple of days.  There are turnouts upslope to remove as much overland water flow as possible.  The downside, this road was severely entrenched by a previous logging operation.  We are doing as much remediation as possible during this operation.  I despise to cut a road surface repeatedly.  We haul a pile of rock to prevent that.  My road crew worked this road about two months prior to moving in.  It is over a mile off the highway and trucks are coming and going unassisted.  



 

This is just to give a little scale to the process.  We are hauling 90,000 pound loads across this bridge.  Creek is flowing clear following a heavy rain.  Looks good.

Wudman  
"You may tear down statues and burn buildings but you can't kill the spirit of patriots and when they've had enough this madness will end."
Charlie Daniels
July 4, 2020 (2 days before his death)

mudfarmer

There is a ton of sand and silt pouring into my stream and swamp from a paved county road, but they don't fine themselves for poor practices, just us.

NICE job on the BMPs! I hope you share these pics with potential clients and thank you for sharing with us 8)

I have acquired one 40' and one 48' steel flatbed semi trailers, one of them will get used whole and the other cut in half to make bridges out of. Won't be as nice as yours (they are old, both need decks) but don't need to hold 90,000lbs either.

nativewolf

Looks great!  We had the stream bank collapse under one of our bridges during the heavy rains, spring emerged right under it, we've put in #3 around the area as we pulled the bridges and we'll see what the district forester has to say next week.  Springs popping up all over in the that section of the forwarding trail.  Wet wet wet.  Overall our SMZs are less defined, we take a very few trees within the SMZ but there is no clear demarcation.  I wonder what all these clearcuts and hardwood SMZs will look like in 40 years?  

 Have you seen the uptick in hardwood pricing?  Not that you have much of it compared to your pine but boy...everything is moving up.  

Anyway, great pics of great bridging.  thanks
Liking Walnut

Wudman

Hardwood pulpwood prices have been ridiculous over the last month.......well north of my pine log delivered price.  Back mid-summer I couldn't give it away and some was left in the woods.  Pure stands of hardwood were left standing as we couldn't move the pulp.  Such is life. 

Wudman
"You may tear down statues and burn buildings but you can't kill the spirit of patriots and when they've had enough this madness will end."
Charlie Daniels
July 4, 2020 (2 days before his death)

mike_belben

Beautiful job on the crossing.  5 years ago id look at that picture and have zero appreciation for the work it takes to have both sides of a clay road pitching to the stream and it still running clear.   I wouldnt even know what i was looking at but i sure get it now boy.. So much work. 
Praise The Lord

stavebuyer

Quote from: nativewolf on March 19, 2021, 06:59:45 PM
Looks great!  We had the stream bank collapse under one of our bridges during the heavy rains, spring emerged right under it, we've put in #3 around the area as we pulled the bridges and we'll see what the district forester has to say next week.  Springs popping up all over in the that section of the forwarding trail.  Wet wet wet.  Overall our SMZs are less defined, we take a very few trees within the SMZ but there is no clear demarcation.  I wonder what all these clearcuts and hardwood SMZs will look like in 40 years?  

Have you seen the uptick in hardwood pricing?  Not that you have much of it compared to your pine but boy...everything is moving up.  

Anyway, great pics of great bridging.  thanks
40 years? Usually less than five some bottom feeder will be high grading it.  

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