- Joined
- May 6, 2012
- Messages
- 116
Years ago I posted an article on the volunteer construction of an 86' trestle bridge that I have participated heavily in the four years of construction. This picture shows one of the final stages of the Adkinson Bridge at Mt. Pisgah. Two local professional construction crews volunteered to coordinate with the crane operator, setting the spans in place on a Saturday morning. Volunteers had previously pre-drilled almost everything, set up work platforms, and even built a floating dock across the pond allowing movement from side to side.
This phase including setting and securing took only three hours. If you look closely, you can see the working platforms and docks volunteers had built to let the workmen focus on the task at hand. With the end shoes welded in place, the braces secured in place, the remaining work to be done was to add the additional bolts and connectors to make the bridge permanent. Back to volunteer labor.
The next phase including adding all the permanent bolts, tying everything together, adding decking, railings, and on-ramps. Another time consuming area was adding all the decking. Below shows a publicity picture taken by the Arboretum. the finished bridge serves as a view point where young and old alike can see turtles, knutes, frogs and many birds and plants that flourish in the arboretum. Guide programs in the arboretum serve local schools giving young kids a chance to get out in nature. The bridge is a high point of the tour including hikes in different kinds of forests.
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