Friday 19 December 2014

Bailey bridge at Seebe, Alberta

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.

Taken September 14, 2014
Taken September 14, 2014

2 comments:

  1. They built one a few years ago as a temporary fix for a dilapidated bridge, while the new bridge was built.

    You can still buy them. No welding is required and assembly doesn't take a huge amount of people, or equipment.

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  2. 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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