Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Bridge Module
Proud crew!
Training Focus
Bridge Design Process
Decisions to be
Training Focus
Northern Region Standard Trail Bridge Plans
Wilderness Bridges Helicopter Usage Preservative Treatments If there is time NP Wilderness Bridge Project Presentation
Authorities
All Decisions Line Office Approval of Bridge Design Director of Engineering
Unless using
Authorities
Design Resources Available.
Forest Engineer Regional Bridge Group
Our job is to provide technical assistance to Forest personnel and complete and/or approve all bridge designs.
Location/Survey Where is best spot? Many decisions. Preliminary Design Project Funding and Scope finalized.
Factors?
TMO & ROS User Safety Resource Protection Others?
Maah-Taah-Hey Trail
~$35,000 Contract
Design (in house or A/E) Complexity of bridge project. Availability of Forest or RO Engineers Funding Typically, R1 designs are done in house. Construction Safety Force Account capability, skill level, and availability. Complexity of bridge. Funding Pros and Cons
this early.
Location / Survey
Location
Narrowest spot? Not necessarily Stable stream reach. Where users want it! Good trail
Survey - Varies
Simple small creek
Location / Survey
Holter Cut on Btr. No survey done.
Location / Survey
Little Salmon on Flathead in Bob Marshall. Full site survey completed. Needed for hydraulic analysis.
Preliminary Design
Determine
Span Height Width Bridge Type Foundations FA or Contract Cost
Factors
Crossing and height Flood waters, Clearance User Span, location, aesthetics Site geology See earlier slide All of the above.
Preliminary Design
Two biggest problems in R1
Preliminary Design
Bridges are too low!
Preliminary Design
Sill-Thru Configuration Little work in water. Hydraulically efficient. (less susceptible to scour). More $ in superstructure, less in abutments. No wingwalls needed.
Preliminary Design
Vertical Wall Configuration More work in water. Hydraulically less efficient. (more susceptible to scour). Less $ in superstructure, more in abutments. Need wingwalls
Preliminary Design
Span Length
Field Estimate (Rule of Thumb) typical spill-thru bridge.
BH
Estimated Span Length (L) = BW + 3 x BH BW Channel bottom width BH Bridge height from channel bottom to trail tread.
Preliminary Design
Span Length
Field estimate must be verified on paper. Do not undersize. Better to spend more on span than abutments. Evaluate existing bridge (did it function OK) Iterative process with what? Bridge height
What controls bridge height?
Preliminary Design
What controls bridge height?
Trail height Bridge structure
depth
Rule of thumb 1/20 x span
Clearance for debris
Preliminary Design
Span Length Vertical Wall abutment
BH
flood without damage to bridge or stream. Footings must be below stream bed as minimum unless on bedrock.
R1 Trails Project Preparation
Preliminary Design
Factors for Bridge Width - Users - Railing
Preliminary Design
Variable widths
Single log 14 Stock w/railing 8 Snowmobile 16+ Manual guidance but can be anything.
Preliminary Design
Bridge Types
Single Log Timber stringer Glu-lam stringer Truss Suspension Packable
Factors
Span Access Aesthetics Materials
Preliminary Design
Foundations
Spread footings Gabions Geocell Walls
Factors
Site geology Site materials Access Scour Potential
Preliminary Design
Costs
Very difficult to estimate. No rules of thumb. Procedure Take off and price materials (variable) Crew up labor.
$2500/day for crew of 4 with misc.tools/equipment Or use Davis Bacon rates
Preliminary Design
Costs - continued
Materials Sawn Timber GL timber Bolts/hardware Concrete Reinforcing Steel Gabions Geocell Geocell fill
R1 Trails Project Preparation
Preliminary Design
Costs - continued
Equipment Excavator Backhoe Dump Truck Crane (Light) Crane (medium) Helicopters Packing
$130/hr $80/hr $75/hr $350/hr $650/hr See later slides
Preliminary Design
Preliminary Design
Nail Lam built 15 years ago. Replace with glulam stringer bridge. On sills. Wilderness Use Helicopter to fly in stringers. Estimate based on Contract Construction Flood Creek Custer
Preliminary Design
Whose Responsibility / Authority for preliminary decisions?
Forest!
However, Engineering must assist! Why? Call FE and or RO during Project Scope for assistance with alternatives and options. Meet with Rec staff and Ranger to discuss preliminary design options and alternatives.
Preliminary Design
At this point
Re-evaluate Project Scope! Re-evaluate Funding!
Why?
Many times each site has several
Construction of Roads and Bridges on federal Highway Projects. Special Project Specifications as needed.
Contract?
Shouldnt be!
Authorities Regional Engineer must approve PS&E package, UNLESS Using Standard Plans, then FE has authority to approve PS&E package.
Construction
All Trail Bridge Construction is to be administered and inspected by
Certified COR, Level III With appropriate technical endorsements. Any difference for Force Account vs
Contract?
NO!
RO will assist as needed or requested.
Limitations
At discretion of FE only. Not for complex bridges. Not for difficult
Drawing #
R1920 R1921 R1922 R1923 R1924 R1925 R1926 R1927
Drawing #
R1930-34
used stringers. But stringer quality large than 4x10 gets iffy. Costs increase significantly with larger stringers.
22 ROS ??? Costs are higher Than other types for similar spans. More difficult to build and maintain.
8.75 x 39. Requires diaphragms. ROS - ???? Most ecomomical for spans 40 feet or longer. Easy construction but requires larger equipment. Low maintenance.
4 width. ROS - ??? Very ecomomical Easy to build. Low maintenance Handrail more difficult to attach.
labor is higher. Good for sites short distance from trailhead but not accessible for equipment Moderate maintenance. Handrail difficult to attach.
Plans limited to 100) Any width. ROS ??? Requires heavy equipment. Too heavy for economical use of helicopters. Requires manufacturer design and shop drawings. Low maintenance.
helicopter use. Expensive materials. Labor intensive. More difficult to build. Increased maintenance.
R1 Trails Project Preparation
edge. Not applicable if scour issues. Do not stack sills to gain height. Place on geocell, gabion, or concrete pad. Need to be site adapted.
feet. Any width ROS ??? Labor intensive. Difficult to build Moderate maintenance. Can be built with semi- primitive tools or heavy equipment.
R1 Trails Project Preparation
General Guidance
Trail Types
Hiking Mountain Biking Pack and Saddle
Cross Country Skiing
Clear width
4 4
5 w/o rail 6 w/rail
Rail Height
42 54 54 42 Site specific 42 27
6 6 42 50
General Guidance
Railing Are they needed?
Proposed manual direction says:
In general, rails shall be required for all trail and pedestrian bridges. However, railings may be eliminated and potentially curbs substituted for rails when an appropriate analysis as described below has been completed: An analysis has identified and evaluated the potential users and determined that the potential hazards along the trail are the same or greater than that of a bridge without a rail. The analysis shall include the possibility of using a rail on only one side of the bridge. In general, rural and urban ROS settings are likely to have small children and less experienced users. Thus, a railing is warranted in most instances. In backcountry or wilderness settings, where users are normally more experienced, rails may not be needed.
General Guidance
Pettibone to left, Goat to below on NP. Selway wilderness.
General Guidance
Dome Mtn. Kootenai. Cabinet Wilderness No Handrail!
General Guidance
Type Sawn Stgr. Log Stgr. GL Stgr. GL Slab Single Log NL Slab Steel Truss Packable Tbr. Truss Suspension ROS Spans 10 to 40 10 to 45 25 to 60 10 to 35 10 to 45 12 to 30 > 60 < 36 > 60 > 100 Equipment Light Light/Med Medium Light Primitive/Light Primitive/Light Heavy Primitive/Light Light/Heavy Medium Maint. Low Low Low Low Low Moderate Low Moderate Moderate High Cost Low/Med Low/Med Low/Med Low Low Medium High High High High
appropriate? What can you build? Is a bridge needed? Bob Marshall Wilderness
Conceptual Design
Project Scope
Wilderness bridges are the most complicated and expensive. Need special attention.
Helicopter Usage
Helicopter contracts
Type I (Heavy) Sky cranes, etc Can pick up to 25,000 lbs. On call contract $9000/hour Must come out of West Coast. Mob costs prohibitive. Type II (Medium) 5000 to 12,000 lbs. On call contract $4500/hour Several in Montana, but not readily available.
R1 Trails Project Preparation
Helicopter Usage
Helicopter contracts
Type III ( Light) Can pick up to 5000lbs. On call contract $1800/hour For up to 3000 lbs, readily available. Need to plan ahead and try to coordinate
Helicopter Usage
Helicopter Use - best value?
Small helicopter More trips More on-site labor (fly one stringer at a time) Big Helicopter Less trips. Less on site labor (fly in entire bridge superstructure)
Preservative Treatments
What is life expectancy of permanent bridge? Life of untreated material? 15 to 20 years Life of treated material? 50 + years
Preservative Treatments
Treated vs Untreated.
Manual Direction fpr
permanent structures
design life of 50 yrs
However, exceptions are
Preservative Treatments
Protect the integrity of Treatment.
Cutting ends, drilling
Field treatments have limited success. To apply field treatments, person needs training and certification. Hassle!
Preservative Treatment
Any laws against Treatment?
Only 1 by EPA Can not use CCA in
Preservative Treatment
Options
Substructure,
Changing constantly