Rails to Trails bridge progress

Looking really good

John in NM

The coolest thing is that people will be able to use this bridge. We have one near here that is an old wood trestle, so they've removed the ends to make it harder to get out onto it. I think the trails around it are also part of Rails to Trails, but the bridge itself is too much of a liability risk, so it is of limits.

Re: Rails to Trails bridge progress

Wiley Horne

Bill,

I’m just knocked out by what you and your community have accomplished, starting from scratch. No money, no authorization, no nothing. This bridge has been bootstrapped from nothing but willpower and resourcefulness and your own wallets.

You mentioned the posts…is there a second angle brace on the outside toe?

Wiley

Re: Rails to Trails bridge progress

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

I have completely re-engineered the bridge construction to save money. Looks like we are going to come in underbudget by half!

Politicians were sufficiently impressed that we just got a $400,000 State recreation grant to complete a spectacular section through Wolf Run Gorge- 6 bridges, but smaller ones.

Congratulations!

Mark Hennebury

Great job! and congratulations on the grant, you surely deserve it! All around great to see what you and your community are doing!

Re: Rails to Trails bridge progress

walta

To my eye it looks like someone substituted a 2x6 for the 4x6 shone in the drawing.

Did they decide to skip the lag bolt coming in from the back side? Seems to me it would be difficult to hit the center of a 2x every time without splitting.



Did the engineer approve the changes?

Walta

Re: Rails to Trails bridge progress

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

To my eye it looks like someone substituted a 2x6 for the 4x6 shone in the drawing. Unsure what you are referring to but we have not deviated from the drawing expect to orient the through bolt the correct direction, nut out board.

Did they decide to skip the lag bolt coming in from the back side? No, it was my job to install these yesterday. This screw is essential to keep the post vertical until the rails are installed.

I'm project manager so the "they" is me. The post and rail is my design, then approved and stamped by a PE to make the print permit valid. Everything about these bridges is approved by a mechanical and civil engineering firm on a "stamped" drawing, and then local building inspector signs off on them.

Re: Rails to Trails bridge progress

walta

From here I can’t really read the plans or measure the board but to my eye the board in the photo looks like a 2X6 not the 4X6 plan seem to call for. You may want to measure the board on site and see if it matches the plans.

See the red arrows in the photos

Walta

Re: Rails to Trails bridge progress

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

You may want to measure the board on site and see if it matches the plans.

This piece of wood is called a curb in bridge language. I bought the lumber and the 8" engineered screws to fasten it to the ties. And I spent Friday screwing posts to it. If it was a 2 x 6 it would not project above the 2 x 8 runner next to it.

Re: Rails to Trails bridge progress

walta

I am wrong

I now see there is a bar clamp in the photo and the bar on the clamp made me think the board was half as thick.

Walta

Re: Rails to Trails bridge progress

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

some times a picture is NOT worth a thousand words if the picture does not clearly show the details. I have worked on this bridge enough that I know every piece of lumber, screw and bolt in it. No mistakes so far except for the I-beam flanges.

Unknown to us, but what should not have been unknown to our consulting RR engineer, the top flange of the I-beam is composed of 3 plates at the beginning, then stepping down to 2 and finally one in the middle of each span. The result is a variation in height from zero in the middle to 1.5" higher at each end of each Ibeam span. When the bridge was originally decked with ties they were notched at different depth to result in a level top of the ties.

We began laying un-notched ties and then encountered this step in height. I was in France at the time. Had I been on scene I would have shimmed the I-beam to bring the top of all the ties into the same height. The ties were laid down without shimming and the result is a wave along the length of the bridge deck. We are going to attach the rail so that it is straight across the top and accept the undulating deck.