On Beaver Creek

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Bridge Install

Finally got the bridge installed on Friday. A 75 ton crane arrived at 8:30 AM and we finished setting the last piece about 11:30. Everything went well but there was a little excitement.

The first piece was lifted with the crane to rotate it to the upright position. I placed two piles of dirt next to it so that when it rolled over the dirt would catch it to keep it from rolling too far.

The first piece went in with no problem. Before setting we mixed up some concrete and placed it on the foundation so the piece would bear evenly.

Next the crane had to move to a new position to stand up the second side piece and move it closer to the creek. I didn't place quite enough dirt this time and the piece tipped over too far at first before the crane caught it. No harm done!

Right click and choose 'open in new tab' https://youtu.be/jXZC2_J3JKA

Next the center arch was picked and set.

Then the crane moved back and set the last piece.

The braces in the pictures were temporary to support the walls when horizontal. The 3 pieces were bolted together and chains were placed from wall to wall inside the fill dirt to tie back the walls,

One bank will require a lot of fill to bring it up to grade. In hindsight it would have been better if the bridge were a couple of feet lower!

I used a tracked skid steer to dig dirt from the driveway to use as backfill. This will reduce the slope of the driveway and widen it. Many many trips for the rest of Friday and all day Saturday. Next weekend I will need to have a few loads of fill hauled in to finish things up.

The bridge spans 22 feet.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Grand Tetons National Park

Last weekend Terry and I took the sheepwagon camper, two kayaks and the dogs and went down to Grand Tetons for a few days. This was our first time kayaking and it was fun. The first day we paddled on Jackson Lake, the second on the Snake River and the third on Jenny Lake.