The Bailey bridge is a type of portable,
pre-fabricated, single-lane truss bridge developed by Donald Bailey during the
Second World War. The bridge itself was steel and usually had a wood deck. They
were strong enough to handle tanks. You used to see them frequently, especially
after washouts. I can remember places where I lived in British Columbia where
raging creeks and rivers would wash out bridges and Bailey bridges would be
thrown up to restore traffic. They were a common site on gravel highways and on
a lot of logging roads. They have disappeared over the years being replaced by
other bridges.
This one is at Seebe,
Alberta. There really isn’t anything at Seebe except for this bridge that
branches off from a secondary highway to cross over to a dead end on the other
side where there is a rest stop. Many, many years ago there was a general
store. Whatever once was here disappeared years ago. I like the visual of the
photos though.
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| Taken September 14, 2014 |
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| Taken September 14, 2014 |
They built one a few years ago as a temporary fix for a dilapidated bridge, while the new bridge was built.
ReplyDeleteYou can still buy them. No welding is required and assembly doesn't take a huge amount of people, or equipment.
I know you can still buy them but I haven't seen them used much here in years. They can be put up quickly and the ones you do see have been in place for many years.
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