Drill through the ends of one end of the bridge and run a 1/2in. or larger steel cable through those holes and put a big steel anchor (think 8in. dia. well casing down about 6ft.) on the up steam edge of the bridge and triple clamp the cable to the anchor. In the event of flood the bridge will pivot downstream along the bank. recoverable and prevent damage down stream.
Many years back I helped my friend build a bridge across a narrow but deep sided creek that needed to be strong enough to drive a car over. He purchased an old cargo trailer bed frame. We were able to draw it across the creek with come alongs, pulleys and levers and set it resting each end on a poured concrete pad on weekend one. Then the next weekend we bolted wooden beams down to form the decking. He ended up using gravel to make ramps up to the deck height and that thing is still standing!
Nice job there to build a bridge over the creek at a very reasonable cost! As someone else suggested, I would consider adding railing on each side. If not that, at least add a "bumper board" down the entire length of each side to help keep the tires on the bridge. Also, I would STRONGLY suggest getting a couple dumptruck loads of riprap rock and cover the banks on both sides under the bridge and a few feet upstream and downstream of the bridge. That will help to prevent erosion of dirt from underneath the bridge. There is a fabric made just for that, which you can lay down first, then put the riprap on top of the fabric. Both of those will greatly help reduce erosion.
I like what you’ve done there. I have a similar project and I’ve been looking at telephone poles or culverts to cross the creek. You might want to consider putting a rail along each side of the bridge. It’ll keep your tractor from sliding off if it’s wet or muddy. Also set up a game camera on the bridge and you’ll see that lots of critters will use it as well.
In1939 my Dad was in the Civilian Conservation Corps ( CCCs ) and they built a number of these bridges in the Big Piney , Wyoming area . One addition that would suggest, is to run 2X12 planks from end to end spaced out to where your tires run on them . If you have a narrow front tractor you can run another set down the middle of the bridge for the front tires to run on .
I would wrap a 1/2 inch guy-wire cable around the poles and tie them off to a tree near-by, extreme high water will float it out, i built one over 10 years ago and used oak boards but did not treat them, so now i need to replace the deck boards, i used 4 poles just like you did, mine is 33 ft. long ,i still drive my pickup and skidloader across it, to treat my new deck boards i will use portland cement mixed to a slurry and coat the boards and stack them tight inside a plastic wrap, let them dry and cure this way. I have pine 2x4 and 2x6s that i used for sidewalk forms over 20 years old that are out in Mo. weather that do not rot, thought this might be helpful, nice bridge...........
Nice work!! I have been contemplati g this same task! I was thinking the same thing one of the other commenters mentioned of buying an old flatbed semi and laying it across. Cut the wheels and such off and use the deck and rails. Should last the rest of my life. If i cant find one of those, I might try this approach. Looks solid!! Thanks for sharing
I am glad that your video came up in my feed. Awesome video. We have the same issue. Your puppy is enjoying himself/herself. I just subscribed. Maybe you should put a trail camera under the bridge. The rushing water is so relaxing, and beautiful.
All good. The most likely wear will only be the surface wood and shim boards eventually. The poles, being out of the dirt will last a long time. The cinder blocks may settle with season changes etc. Obviously, poured concrete would have been better at both ends. But so what. You did well with the blocks. Now get to clearing the 50 acres of any undesirables. :)
Sweet! I've got some poles and a tractor..... just wasn't sure how to make it all come together! One thing I would recommend is to build some "Beaver Dam Analogs" along your creek. When I first found out about them, I was a bit skeptical, but you wouldn't believe how great they are at not only cleaning up the creek, but moderating the flow so you actually get a more lively stretch of water. Beavers are a keystone species and they used to be on every single trickle in the land. That means the forests and animals evolved with beaver dams, and since they were removed hundreds of years ago... the ecosystem has been in a slow decline that we're blind to because everything looks green and healthy. If you put up a few BDA's, you'll quickly see the erosion of the banks stop and new soil deposition taking place. Fish numbers will increase greatly. Tons of birds will show up. Overall, it's absolutely crazy what a little structure of sticks and mud can accomplish! Plus, they're just fun to build! Lots of videos here on RUclips about them and what they accomplish.
Hey! This is a great video! I have property with a creek and have land on the other side that is inaccessible other than a bridge. I have watched many simple bridge videos but non nearly as good as yours! Really enjoyed watching this👍👍 Rick Johnson
I have a friend that built 3 of these bridges on his place about 15 years ago. They span about half this gap. They flex badly. They were built for UTV. One lasted 10 years roughly and another recently failed. He used good poles too...
You did an awesome job. The only thing I can see that I would suggest is when you put your cinderblocks on end they sink into the ground unless you have a cap block on the ground first.. when the ground gets wet, those cinderblocks just start working their way into the soft dirt.
you should have rip rpaped the banks. One side is already caving. We did the same years ago and paid the price. Also you need more space between boards for the flooding you stated. It makes the bridge less boyant and water flow up and through instead of unseating the bridge
Great job using inexpensive materials. You could have over-engineered it & spent triple the $$, but sometimes perfect is the enemy of good enough. Now you can get after the 50 acres on the other side. That was the objective, right?
You need bigger gaps between the deck boards. 1 1/2 inch gaps for good drainage. You have to clean them out time to time with a leaf blower to get the mud out. They will rot fast if you don't keep it cleaned out. I am on my third bridge and it is 80 feet with no support post.
I think I would do like another commentor suggested and anchor it well at one end. Like concrete piers a foot wide and eight feet in the ground with big cables attached securely to the the pier and to the bridge. I would also put threaded rods through the poles with taps and washers on each side of each pole especially at the end being anchored. I'll bet the heaviest rain over two or three seasons will be washing that bridge downstream causing who knows what damage if you don't make sure it's anchored really well.
It looked like the butt ends were on one side? I would have had the outside ones on one end and the inside ones the other way around. Thus for max support.
I know you said that you will periodically check the poles, but keep in mind that telephone poles are often times only preserved within the first couple inches of its surface, and the poles are meant to be vertical whereby that alone gives a lot of run-off properties for the rain/moisture. When you have your poles laying horizontally, the rain/moisture will eventually penetrate the outer layer of the telephone pole that got the preservatives pressurized into it
Well, that is bad news but thanks for the information. I am thinking my next bridge I would use I-beams but I am not sure what size to use. I tried to look up the formula but wow it was complicated, and I have a degree in computer science and mathematics! 😊
Thanks for making this video. Lots of great tips for a bridge I am starting to build. Question: How much embankment ground is underneath the poles on both sides? Trying to figure out how much “meat” to put underneath my poles on each embankment to span a similar distance. Thanks for this information!
That is my biggest concern. Is the erosion of the bank underneath the bridge ends. I had about 6 - 8 feet on each side but we had a large storm and one side got washed. If you have erosion then I would definitely find something to prevent the erosion
Nice bridge! Very similar to what I was planning as telephone/power poles are strong, long and usually fair priced. Curious as what you used to get them to your property? Do you have a super long trailer? This is my biggest dilemma is transporting some about 20 miles.
That is a very nice bridge. I would suggest if you ever need to replace it to use an old flat bed semi trailer. You would need a concrete abutment on either end but it would be a forever bridge and would hold anything you wanted to drive across. Art from Ohio
This was the same plan I had! Just hadn't looked at one enough to figure what the process looks like to get the wheels off of it. Front Jack's should be easy enough. Then, How to get it down into the woods!
@artszabo1015 Definitely use the tractor. I was thinking a tractor and then an excavator with the end suspended on a strap? It's not as much the weight as it's the twist and turns and narrow roads on my place. I'll have to scout it out a little better and devise a plan. I'm in the very infancy stages of putting one in. A State Forrester was the first one who told me about using an old flatbed semi. It's a brilliant idea and we have a tractor trailer salvage yard less than 10 miles from us! I have about 30 acres on the other side of the creek from me that doesn't get explored enough for this reason!
@@BradFess-jo8to If you have an excavator available you could stand the trailer on edge to maneuver it through the tight spots. Where are you by the way?
@@artszabo1015 Great idea. I'm just outside of Columbus, GA. Recently purchased 200 acres and am trying to get it back in shape from 20 years of neglect
Great question! I did a lot of research on that and there are several factors. The grade of the poles, length, braces, number of poles and probably others. But I never got a rock solid answer, I concluded I would have to hire a structural engineer to calculate it. But I would say I have been driving a 6-7k lb tractor across it with no problem.
Not that I have done anything like this but I would have thought that the highway larger concrete blocks would have been better as you could burry them and anchor to them for flood conditions?
He means lane divider blocks they use on the city highways. You can also use giant landscape blocks like this. www.rosebudconcreteinc.com/media/Sliders/resize_174.jpg @@stephengoodwin5403
Yeah, right. We drove our 6000+ lb larger tractor across it this weekend. It didn't break or anything but it did move or sag a little under the weight. Of course my son started bouncing the tractor a bit, which made me nervous!
@@stephengoodwin5403 ok that as great to hear. wasn't sure if you were ball parking the weight. I am looking to build some kind of bridge as well and was happy to see one that held a car weight! thanks for sharing!
I have a slightly wider and slightly deeper seasonal creek/valley to cross. This will work perfectly. Thanks for sharing the great idea!
Really awesome idea using utility poles. I was looking into how they pressure treat them, but just buying them is so much better! Thanks!
Drill through the ends of one end of the bridge and run a 1/2in. or larger steel cable through those holes and put a big steel anchor (think 8in. dia. well casing down about 6ft.) on the up steam edge of the bridge and triple clamp the cable to the anchor. In the event of flood the bridge will pivot downstream along the bank. recoverable and prevent damage down stream.
Many years back I helped my friend build a bridge across a narrow but deep sided creek that needed to be strong enough to drive a car over. He purchased an old cargo trailer bed frame. We were able to draw it across the creek with come alongs, pulleys and levers and set it resting each end on a poured concrete pad on weekend one. Then the next weekend we bolted wooden beams down to form the decking. He ended up using gravel to make ramps up to the deck height and that thing is still standing!
Nice job there to build a bridge over the creek at a very reasonable cost! As someone else suggested, I would consider adding railing on each side. If not that, at least add a "bumper board" down the entire length of each side to help keep the tires on the bridge. Also, I would STRONGLY suggest getting a couple dumptruck loads of riprap rock and cover the banks on both sides under the bridge and a few feet upstream and downstream of the bridge. That will help to prevent erosion of dirt from underneath the bridge. There is a fabric made just for that, which you can lay down first, then put the riprap on top of the fabric. Both of those will greatly help reduce erosion.
I like what you’ve done there. I have a similar project and I’ve been looking at telephone poles or culverts to cross the creek. You might want to consider putting a rail along each side of the bridge. It’ll keep your tractor from sliding off if it’s wet or muddy. Also set up a game camera on the bridge and you’ll see that lots of critters will use it as well.
In1939 my Dad was in the Civilian Conservation Corps ( CCCs ) and they built a number of these bridges in the Big Piney , Wyoming area . One addition that would suggest, is to run 2X12 planks from end to end spaced out to where your tires run on them . If you have a narrow front tractor you can run another set down the middle of the bridge for the front tires to run on .
I would wrap a 1/2 inch guy-wire cable around the poles and tie them off to a tree near-by, extreme high water will float it out, i built one over 10 years ago and used oak boards but did not treat them, so now i need to replace the deck boards, i used 4 poles just like you did, mine is 33 ft. long ,i still drive my pickup and skidloader across it, to treat my new deck boards i will use portland cement mixed to a slurry and coat the boards and stack them tight inside a plastic wrap, let them dry and cure this way. I have pine 2x4 and 2x6s that i used for sidewalk forms over 20 years old that are out in Mo. weather that do not rot, thought this might be helpful, nice bridge...........
Nice work!! I have been contemplati g this same task! I was thinking the same thing one of the other commenters mentioned of buying an old flatbed semi and laying it across. Cut the wheels and such off and use the deck and rails. Should last the rest of my life. If i cant find one of those, I might try this approach. Looks solid!! Thanks for sharing
Great idea!!love it.tired of a no good colvert.Awesome, Wonderful job.Thanks for sharing.
I am glad that your video came up in my feed. Awesome video. We have the same issue. Your puppy is enjoying himself/herself. I just subscribed. Maybe you should put a trail camera under the bridge. The rushing water is so relaxing, and beautiful.
All good. The most likely wear will only be the surface wood and shim boards eventually. The poles, being out of the dirt will last a long time. The cinder blocks may settle with season changes etc. Obviously, poured concrete would have been better at both ends.
But so what. You did well with the blocks. Now get to clearing the 50 acres of any undesirables. :)
We built a bridge similar to this one 20 years ago. It has at least another 20 years of use.
Sweet! I've got some poles and a tractor..... just wasn't sure how to make it all come together!
One thing I would recommend is to build some "Beaver Dam Analogs" along your creek. When I first found out about them, I was a bit skeptical, but you wouldn't believe how great they are at not only cleaning up the creek, but moderating the flow so you actually get a more lively stretch of water. Beavers are a keystone species and they used to be on every single trickle in the land. That means the forests and animals evolved with beaver dams, and since they were removed hundreds of years ago... the ecosystem has been in a slow decline that we're blind to because everything looks green and healthy. If you put up a few BDA's, you'll quickly see the erosion of the banks stop and new soil deposition taking place. Fish numbers will increase greatly. Tons of birds will show up. Overall, it's absolutely crazy what a little structure of sticks and mud can accomplish! Plus, they're just fun to build! Lots of videos here on RUclips about them and what they accomplish.
Hey! This is a great video! I have property with a creek and have land on the other side that is inaccessible other than a bridge. I have watched many simple bridge videos but non nearly as good as yours! Really enjoyed watching this👍👍
Rick Johnson
I have a friend that built 3 of these bridges on his place about 15 years ago. They span about half this gap. They flex badly. They were built for UTV. One lasted 10 years roughly and another recently failed. He used good poles too...
Sad to say the way he built that bridge it will fail if he puts heavy cars or trucks on it
Cool idea and execution!
Yes the poles are meant to be in the ground 30 years, but if they are used poles, they may already have spent a lot of their time already.
You did an awesome job. The only thing I can see that I would suggest is when you put your cinderblocks on end they sink into the ground unless you have a cap block on the ground first.. when the ground gets wet, those cinderblocks just start working their way into the soft dirt.
you should have rip rpaped the banks. One side is already caving. We did the same years ago and paid the price. Also you need more space between boards for the flooding you stated. It makes the bridge less boyant and water flow up and through instead of unseating the bridge
Running your tractor over at the sold me on the idea.
I bought a flat bed railroad car for a bridge over my creek. Drove a D9 Cat over it to get it settled in good. $700.
Who sells those old railroad flatbed frames?
Great job using inexpensive materials. You could have over-engineered it & spent triple the $$, but sometimes perfect is the enemy of good enough. Now you can get after the 50 acres on the other side. That was the objective, right?
good job brother 👍
Nice job
You need bigger gaps between the deck boards. 1 1/2 inch gaps for good drainage. You have to clean them out time to time with a leaf blower to get the mud out. They will rot fast if you don't keep it cleaned out. I am on my third bridge and it is 80 feet with no support post.
beautiful bridge ..nice job
Looks great! What a job... that took some time...
Love the idea! Thanks.
WELL DONE SIR, EXCELLENT WORK
I think I would do like another commentor suggested and anchor it well at one end. Like concrete piers a foot wide and eight feet in the ground with big cables attached securely to the the pier and to the bridge. I would also put threaded rods through the poles with taps and washers on each side of each pole especially at the end being anchored. I'll bet the heaviest rain over two or three seasons will be washing that bridge downstream causing who knows what damage if you don't make sure it's anchored really well.
It looked like the butt ends were on one side? I would have had the outside ones on one end and the inside ones the other way around. Thus for max support.
I know you said that you will periodically check the poles, but keep in mind that telephone poles are often times only preserved within the first couple inches of its surface, and the poles are meant to be vertical whereby that alone gives a lot of run-off properties for the rain/moisture. When you have your poles laying horizontally, the rain/moisture will eventually penetrate the outer layer of the telephone pole that got the preservatives pressurized into it
Well, that is bad news but thanks for the information. I am thinking my next bridge I would use I-beams but I am not sure what size to use. I tried to look up the formula but wow it was complicated, and I have a degree in computer science and mathematics! 😊
Thanks for making this video. Lots of great tips for a bridge I am starting to build. Question: How much embankment ground is underneath the poles on both sides? Trying to figure out how much “meat” to put underneath my poles on each embankment to span a similar distance. Thanks for this information!
That is my biggest concern. Is the erosion of the bank underneath the bridge ends. I had about 6 - 8 feet on each side but we had a large storm and one side got washed. If you have erosion then I would definitely find something to prevent the erosion
I'm doing the same thing with used railroad ties from Tractor Farm Supply. My creek span is only 7 feet wide.
I've heard of this before, even taking a semi flat-bed.
Nice bridge! Very similar to what I was planning as telephone/power poles are strong, long and usually fair priced. Curious as what you used to get them to your property? Do you have a super long trailer? This is my biggest dilemma is transporting some about 20 miles.
I had a friend that had a trailer. If you don't have someone try to find a hotshotter or local guy with a big truck and trailer.
That is a very nice bridge. I would suggest if you ever need to replace it to use an old flat bed semi trailer. You would need a concrete abutment on either end but it would be a forever bridge and would hold anything you wanted to drive across.
Art from Ohio
This was the same plan I had! Just hadn't looked at one enough to figure what the process looks like to get the wheels off of it. Front Jack's should be easy enough. Then, How to get it down into the woods!
@@BradFess-jo8to Maybe a tractor with a log skidding winch and some snatch blocks???
@artszabo1015 Definitely use the tractor. I was thinking a tractor and then an excavator with the end suspended on a strap? It's not as much the weight as it's the twist and turns and narrow roads on my place. I'll have to scout it out a little better and devise a plan. I'm in the very infancy stages of putting one in. A State Forrester was the first one who told me about using an old flatbed semi. It's a brilliant idea and we have a tractor trailer salvage yard less than 10 miles from us! I have about 30 acres on the other side of the creek from me that doesn't get explored enough for this reason!
@@BradFess-jo8to If you have an excavator available you could stand the trailer on edge to maneuver it through the tight spots. Where are you by the way?
@@artszabo1015 Great idea. I'm just outside of Columbus, GA. Recently purchased 200 acres and am trying to get it back in shape from 20 years of neglect
Very nice I would rather have seen the actual build of the bridge that would’ve been more interesting but still very nice
Yeah, I wish I had got some video too. Maybe on my next one!
If you research King Post Bridge, you can easily reto your bridge, it will give tremendous strength and it give you railings to boot!
Good job
Good enuff!!!
You did a very good job, nice bridge. How wide is the deck, the 2x8's ? Thanks
Yeah, they are 2x8, they gave me the most wood for my dollar.
How much load can this bridge carry? What is the unsupported span?
How much vehicle load can a single utility pole 30' long"?
Great question! I did a lot of research on that and there are several factors. The grade of the poles, length, braces, number of poles and probably others. But I never got a rock solid answer, I concluded I would have to hire a structural engineer to calculate it.
But I would say I have been driving a 6-7k lb tractor across it with no problem.
Please shoot another video of it in year two, three and five.
Pull and secure that birch tree away from your bridge and it will make for a solid tree and safer bridge.
How do you recommend I do that without hurting the tree? Pull once with tractor or slow pull on it it with strap or something?
Not that I have done anything like this but I would have thought that the highway larger concrete blocks would have been better as you could burry them and anchor to them for flood conditions?
What do you mean "highway larger blocks"?
@@stephengoodwin5403 Yes , that is what I was thinking?? But dont' know the details of .
He means lane divider blocks they use on the city highways. You can also use giant landscape blocks like this. www.rosebudconcreteinc.com/media/Sliders/resize_174.jpg @@stephengoodwin5403
love can build a bridge...
Everyone thinks they’ll Just “pile dirt at each end for ramp. Abutments 101 solves most issues
God is good every day! 😉 very nice job! Your hired!
Our car weighs 2500 lb. You said tractor weighs 4000lbs. If you drive that a car is nothing
Yeah, right. We drove our 6000+ lb larger tractor across it this weekend. It didn't break or anything but it did move or sag a little under the weight. Of course my son started bouncing the tractor a bit, which made me nervous!
@@stephengoodwin5403 ok that as great to hear. wasn't sure if you were ball parking the weight. I am looking to build some kind of bridge as well and was happy to see one that held a car weight! thanks for sharing!
nah i wouldnt trust that with tractor after a couple of years. too much flex and needs supports on both sides
plant some trees in the banks and guide them to support the bridge as they grow older
Are you sure those poles are side by side perhaps you could drag this out by telling us those are side by side Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee