Film Or Pamphlet

[Autocar]

On building and getting a bridge across a stream. Creeks in western Ohio are steep banks and deep. Looking on the internet sites show crossings and shows a grapple skidder backing it across a creek. I think a twenty foot bridge would be hard pressed to reach the other bank. Anyone seen a film or a pamphlet telling how to do it safety? Need something for a upcoming loggers chapter meeting.

[fishpharmer]

This is my second hand, zero personal experience info... Bill, I messaged a MS logger friend of mine about your question.  He messaged back that they use poles to get a 60 foot bridge accross anything they need, never gets wet.  He went on to say they use the bottom of a railcar for the bridge, holds up a loaded log truck no prob.  (They run 18 wheelers, so I am thinking a 25 ton load).

I am guessing they lay poles across with their loader and then slide the bridge over the poles,  not certain.  I can ask for more info if you want.

[Autocar]

Yes that would be great, we were talking this morning installing a bridge could eat up a lot of time. So it might make more sense for us to go talk to the adjoining landowner and pay him for crossing his property and normally that is what we do. But the O. F. A. require us to have different kinds of safety and education information at our meetings. Thanks James !

[Bert]

In Pa we have a conservation district for each area that lays out how to cross streams. Its their way or deal with the EPA/DEP whatever you want to call em. Alot of it makes no sense in the real world but we play along.

[OH logger]

In Pa we have a conservation district for each area that lays out how to cross streams. Its their way or deal with the EPA/DEP whatever you want to call em. Alot of it makes no sense in the real world but we play along.

not to pick on you but that is the problem with our country. everyone plays along to get along and have been doin that for 60 years and that's why nothin gets done in our country anymore and we have to many hoops to jump through. I am startin to get the attitude to say no to as much of this kind of stupid stuff as I can afford to. sorry for the rant but stuff like this bugs me. not that you need to go muddin through a ditch but the government don't need to have our thumb on everyone...all the time... do they??

back to bridges. me and autocar are in the same area with the jobs averaging 25,000 bd ft and that's not much footage to justify putting a bridge in. (unless its all walnut  ;D) I agree with bill for the most part the neighbors will let you cross their property to get around BUT we do get the occasional neighbor that got his Wheaties peed in that morning. then a bridge would be fantastic. I think our bridges would almost always be used in the woods and crossed with logs and skidders   not semis

[Riwaka]

Many ways of constructing temporary logging bridges.
Two diggers- one on each side of the strea. One pushing out materials and the other pulling it the rest of the way. Making a platform for a high lift cable crane to move structures into place. etc

https://youtu.be/Wf3ceO6TVa0   (forest bridge)

http://loggingsafety.com/sites/loggingsafety.com/files/bulletin_pdfs/04-R-14.pdf

http://matraxinc.com/temporary-bridges/

http://www.usbridge.com/bridges/

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/forestmanagement/documents/pub/FR-378.pdf             

[John Mc]

Vermont had a big push a few years ago trying to encourage the use of portable skidder bridges. They had a couple of plans for making something out of Hemlock.

Perhaps you could adapt something from this simple design?
Link to VT FPR Skidder Bridge.

[Autocar]

John that is self explanatory thanks I may end up using this for our class.

[John Mc]

Hope it works out, Bill. I've seen a couple of them in use. They seem to work well. Making them in thirds seems to keep the handling easier. Nice for a logger in that you can just pick it up and bring it with you to the next job. They used to have a video on that site of one of these being assembled and put in place over a stream, but that seems to have disappeared.

[curdog]

In Pa we have a conservation district for each area that lays out how to cross streams. Its their way or deal with the EPA/DEP whatever you want to call em. Alot of it makes no sense in the real world but we play along.

Sorry, I'm going to derail the post a little from bridges :D, but that sounds like a bad attitude for that agency to have.  I'm one of those government workers,but I think it's arrogant to think you are the only one that knows how to solve a problem. I visit logging jobs almost daily, to make sure sediment isn't entering streams,creeks etc. I'll give advice if asked, but I will never say there is one way to do something. As long as the end result is the same, I don't care how it's done. If the water is flowing clear then how or why it's that way isn't important to me. Most of the loggers will call me if they have a question, but we'll usually figure it out by working together on the solution. I've inspected hundreds if not thousands of logging jobs, and I still learn more on each one I visit. Sorry for getting off on a rant, but Ive worked with people in the past that only knew what a book told them and didn't make an effort to get practical real world knowledge. I worked for one agency and the water quality supervisor went out of his way to be difficult to work with, I didn't agree with his methods and I left....

[fishpharmer]

https://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/misc/bmp/timber_bridges_bmp.pdf

[Wudman]

We use portable bridges extensively here in Virginia.  Some years back, the Virginia Department of Forestry had a cost share program that would cover 50% of the cost of a portable bridge.  Most (if not all) of my contractors have a set.  They are used on basically every tract we harvest in the piedmont.  Most are 40 feet long made as 3 four foot wide panels.  A grapple skidder can pick one section up and back it across a stream (I haven't seen a cable skidder in my area in 30 years).  A 40 foot bridge can span an opening of about 30 feet (with unimproved banks).  The three panels are laid side by side to form a crossing that is twelve feet wide.  They can handle a skidder or a loaded log truck (27 ton payload). I haven't priced a set in a while, but $12,000 to $15,000 should get you in the ballpark for a set of steel bridges.  Most of what we use have 8 inch I-beams with steel decking.  We have a few 8x8 oak timber bridges in use as well.  VDOF was promoting stress laminated bridges a few years back, but I have never seen one of those in the woods.  For comparison, the typical permanent culvert installation for me will run about $10,000.

Wudman