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Need some advise on some land I have purchased. I am needing to make a drive way across a creek. To save money in was thinking of building a bridge using I-beams instead of buying a culvert to put it. I am guessing I would need an 8-10 ft culvert, which would really expensive. Has anyone ever tried this before?

cheapest way would be to find a gas station that is replacing its tanks and buy one of the old tanks. most of them were steel. cut the ends out of the tank and roll it into the creek then cover it with dirt.

Here's a thread from another site talking about bridges - might help you out on some ideas.

http://bullnettlenews.com/forum/yaf_pos ... idges.aspx

How deep is the water? We have better luck with concrete crossings in oilfield than bridges.

telephone poles from the local power company make excellent bridges. Biggest question is how wide of a span does the brindge need to be? You want the bridge to be as high as possible, with ideally having a ramp to get up to the bridge. Single span is also preferred to reduce the amount of debris that the bridge will catch. If you cannot do single span, sink the poles as much as possible. NEVER drive a pointed end pole in the ground, always drive a flat end pole. Pointed end will only aid the pole in supporting less weight.

How wide a span and how much weight? Is this a main driveway to a home? If yes, then you need to plan a good structure, so you don't limit yourself. Good structure meaning something that can hold a good bit of weight. Sure you could start small, but as your life evolves, you may find yourself needing a better bridge.

i would go with big i beams, cross members every 12" -16" and the use walking grate welded to that, it will not gather mud, and will never be slick.
also it will be there forever.

Another thought.

you can go to some auctions and find old 18 wheeler flat bed equipment trailers, these will work great, you may just have to torch off the axles and rigging.

jdbuckshot wrote:Another thought.

you can go to some auctions and find old 18 wheeler flat bed equipment trailers, these will work great, you may just have to torch off the axles and rigging.

Seen this done before. Makes a cool bridge when you use an enclosed trailer, and just cut off the ends, making a covered bridge.

8 - 10' diameter culvert?

There's no such thing as a 'cheap' bridge.......it'll either do the job and require no future maintenance, or it'll be a failure at the worst possible moment, usually sooner than planned.

There's not enough information provided here to venture a workable solution.

Get a '69 Charger and two ramps made of dirt. The Duke boys didn't need a bridge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tOORni_6Uo

One thing to think about if you go the culvert route is the steepness of the terrain around it. I took a 18 ft piece of pipe casing and covered it over with rock and dirt. When a frog strangler came the force of the water was so strong it blew it about 4ft down stream. This pipe literally weighed a ton. Needles to say I went back with a bridge

Don't know anything about the product but this guy is our neighbor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3hySweHh8Q

I'm thinking the sole purpose of the inquiry (since there's been zero follow-up) was just to make it known that he purchased some land.

I guess Congratulations are in order......

Anatidae wrote:I'm thinking the sole purpose of the inquiry (since there's been zero follow-up) was just to make it known that he purchased some land.

I guess Congratulations are in order......

Funny. I was wondering who buys land without access. Hope he got it right.

Best and strongest thing to install is a old flat rail road car. We use them for bridges all the time. They are available for pretty cheap. Normally just a little more than scrap metal prices. You can get them from 35 feet to 90 feet. Normally comes in 40 foot lengths. Just build you a concrete footer on each end and get a crane rental company to set it for you. They don't charge to much. Deck it with boards or put concrete or asphalt down. We do it all the time in building golf courses. Strongest and cheapest to build for something that will last and hold up to the wear and tear of daily driving. Just another idea for you to consider. Good luck!