Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Product sources Bridge Construction

I'm interested in constructing a footbridge to span a drainage ditch into my 2 1/2 acre pond. The span would be about 10 to 12 feet, and I would want the bridge to be able to handle the weight of me and a 50 in riding mower. I have found only one source of plans, http://pacifi.ca/index.html. Has anyone construced a footbridge using this type construction? Where else might I find plans? With average carpentry skills would I be better off purchasing the arch assemblies?

I have been looking for the same type of thing except I need a bridge to hold a 7,500 pound tractor. One problem I ran into is that people don't want to recomend anything beyond a foot bridge due to liability concerns. Have you considered a pipe culvert? Installed correctly they can support tens of thousands of pounds. www.tractorbynet.com is a website similar to this but for tractor owners. There have been a lot of posts there about bridges/culverts/creek crossings.

Schroeder and RobA,

Here's a few tidbits on bridge building:

Short bridges... say less than 15', do not need to be especially strong or require huge, heavy beams.

Load capacity of up to 10,000# is easy to build with a great safety margin. Even a 3:1 safety margin will still not require large beams.

You can look at a 20' 7500 GVW flatbed trailer and be amazed at how skimpy it is. Yet, you can block up the ends (wheels up) and drive a 5000# tractor across it without it sagging much.

Treated 2x12's beams and 2x6 decking work just great for short 10 foot spans.

Above 10' but less than 15', a cental post and braces are in order... either straight shoring or suspension are easy to build and work great.

Small bridges rarely fail catastrophically. Most home-made bridges are not high enough to make failure serious if you use your ROPS correctly.

Be warned, there is a huge difference in a 10' and a 15' bridge! 15' and above requires huge beams and/or big steel!