Bridge Decking

[jeeper61]

They have ban the use of pressure treated wood for bridge decking so only non-treated wood is allowed.

The un-treated wood has a short life span what are the alternatives?  

[iowaboy1965]

Cedar? 🤷‍♂️

[New Englander]

Who banned it and where are there any wood decked bridges still?

[Ihfan4life]

Just now, New Englander said:

Who banned it and where are there any wood decked bridges still?

Still one here in Vt. Not counting the wooden covered bridges of course…

[New Englander]

The wood decked I remember from years ago were creosote treated.

[Ihfan4life]

https://bridgehunter.com/vt/addison/100113002601131/

Weybridge Vt 

[1586 Jeff]

47 minutes ago, jeeper61 said:

They have ban the use of pressure treated wood for bridge decking so only non-treated wood is allowed.

The un-treated wood has a short life span what are the alternatives?  

Steel grating.

[bitty]

Apitong

[hillman]

https://www.indianagratingsinc.com/applications/bridges/

The grating would be costly but one time only. What about Oak and just replace as needed ocassionally

[IH Forever]

39 minutes ago, New Englander said:

The wood decked I remember from years ago were creosote treated.

Many left on gravel roads here in Iowa. Creosote treated as you say. On small streams many have been replaced with concrete  box culverts when the bridge needs to be replaced. On larger streams/rivers that won’t work obviously .

[Rawleigh99]

Many of the small bridges in Virginia have given decking. Appear to be 2x8 or 2x10s on edge bolted together. Most here seem to be creasote.  I have a fence my uncle put up back in the 1950s that the posts were made out of bridge deck boards. Those look like 4x6s and they still have the turn gravel on one edge. They look pretty ratty but they're still standing.

[mader656]

1 hour ago, bitty said:

Apitong

This or if you could find bodark big enough to mill would  be a good option

But steel is best

[int 504]

Steel is not so great for motorcycles.

[vtfireman85]

Black locust or elm

[jeeper61]

Here is current bridge It been rebuilt once this is maybe 10-12 years old.

Was originally built for logging access they had timber abutments and I - beams and a treated timber deck, it was 20 years old the deck was in decent shape 

One of the property owners past the bridge was pouring a foundation 10-12 years ago and the cement truck collapsed it, the timber abutments failed   

He had to rebuild the bridge they poured cement abutments reset the I-beams but they were not allowed to use treated lumber because the stream it crosses has Salmon in it.

As you can see the non-treated lumber didn't hold up well between the weather and the bugs.

So before it is re decked I thought maybe I would solicit some ideas to pass on.

It is not access to my place, one of my friends has a bush camp a few miles past it.

Not a show stopper for access to his place since the last mile is ATV access only its just nicer to be able to get the truck closer 

[m.c.farmerboy]

up here on the logging roads they use tamarack or hemlock some cedar 4  24or36-inch I-beams under 6x8 deck trucks gross 240 thousand lbs. 

[jeeper61]

15 minutes ago, m.c.farmerboy said:

up here on the logging roads they use tamarack or hemlock some cedar 4  24or36-inch I-beams under 6x8 deck trucks gross 240 thousand lbs. 

Haven't there yet this season I think they cut off a track over the winter.  

IMO Cedar would be the way to go     

[New Englander]

I wonder if it was the old PT that had arsenic (CCA) or all PT that you can't use? I do remember there was a push to get the arsenic treated stuff out of playgrounds. 

A guy in town installs docks, which he manufactures out of PT, so I looked up NH guidelines which say no CCA, not in production anyway, but today's stuff is ok although it sounds like they'd rather you use stainless steel for the direct water contact. Here's a paragraph I cut:

EPA, along with the U.S. Department of Human Services recommends that “treated wood should not be used where it may come in direct or indirect contact with public drinking water, except for uses involving incidental contact such as docks and bridges.”

That doesn't mention salmon of course. Maybe it's time to dig further and see if your buddy can use today's PT?

[Mike H]

9 minutes ago, jeeper61 said:

Haven't there yet this season I think they cut off a track over the winter.  

IMO Cedar would be the way to go     

if your going for ATV size transportation or smaller then cedar will be ok

if your looking at larger equipment get an Engineer involved.

Mike

and I am not talking Old binder guy 

[jeeper61]

48 minutes ago, New Englander said:

That doesn't mention salmon of course. Maybe it's time to dig further and see if your buddy can use today's PT?

A haven't seen the regulations on the PT but I would have thought they would have used it on the last rebuild if allowed 

They are very strict on the regulations around Salmon inhabited waters the set back is 1000 feet now

A lot of bridges on timber company tracts also appear to have been re-decked with untreated wood in resent years and they are all degrading quickly 

Its likely that the permitting to put a new bridge in over these Salmon inhabited waters my be cost prohibitive because of all the hoops they make them jump through 

All drive through water crossings have been banned too 

[Steve C.]

5 minutes ago, jeeper61 said:

A haven't seen the regulations on the PT but I would have thought they would have used it on the last rebuild if allowed

I believe ACQ replaced CCA close to twenty years ago, at least around here.  But it may have its own toxic qualities, just no arsenic.

[sandhiller]

5 hours ago, New Englander said:

Who banned it and where are there any wood decked bridges still?

Bridge on county road they just redid with new pilings in January.

Don't think we have a ban on treated planks though.

[jeeper61]

17 minutes ago, Mike H said:

if your going for ATV size transportation or smaller then cedar will be ok

if your looking at larger equipment get an Engineer involved.

Mike

and I am not talking Old binder guy 

I am pretty sure that bridge was designed for the loads M.C. Farmerboy stated it was originally put in by a logging company.

They waited years for that one tract where they were allowed to cross the stream to come up for sale 

The rest of the area along that stream is what they call "Meadow" in Maine which is a boggy area   

When it did they put that bridge in they harvested this tract in the early 90s

That road is the only access for 4-5K acres along one of the rivers  

[m.c.farmerboy]

3 hours ago, jeeper61 said:

Haven't there yet this season I think they cut off a track over the winter.  

IMO Cedar would be the way to go     

Tamerac

 

3 hours ago, sandhiller said:

Bridge on county road they just redid with new pilings in January.

Don't think we have a ban on treated planks though.

you still live in a part of the country where they have common sense, 240,000 lb. logging truck run over wood deck bridges in northern Maine but in southern we need a 12-million-dollar concrete bridge to drive a 2200 pound electric car over

[jeeper61]

10 minutes ago, m.c.farmerboy said:

you still live in a part of the country where they have common sense, 240,000 lb. logging truck run over wood deck bridges in northern Maine but in southern we need a 12-million-dollar concrete bridge to drive a 2200 pound electric car over

The stuff I see go on is insane 

About two miles east the black top road goes over the same stream

They built a new bridge over it then two year later they ripped it down and built a new one because it was 6 inches too narrow for big trucks

There is an old bridge farther down the road that is even narrower than the new one they ripped down

One would think the efforts would have been better spent replacing the old narrow one