Center pier bridges can be used in front country or backcountry environments. The real challenge is when there is a large stream crossing, whether due to a dangerous/ high water environment, or a wide crossing that has no good beginning and end points for a structure.
American Trails will hold a Center Pier Wilderness Bridge Construction webinar on Thursday, January 8th from 1 – 2 pm EST.
In this webinar, Andy Borek, Recreational planner for the Bureau of Land Management, will share some successful plans and construction tools he has used to construct multiple span bridges (20 – 60′ in length) with center piers in the Wilderness. These sizes are the type of structures that become financial and logistical hurdles that either require Wilderness exemptions to utilize power tools, or a massive financial input to build a bridge off site and have it flown in with a helicopter.
The presenter intends to inspire groups and other federal entities that they DO have the skills in house to construct these structures without significant costs. With solid leadership, a dedicated volunteer base and alignment with some core volunteer groups; agencies (and partners!) can build these structures for pennies on the dollar, provided they have solid leadership at the job site. This webinar will include images/examples of this style of construction when it was used locally for a front country bridge— and then progress that design to apply in a wilderness setting, utilizing primitive tools.
Learning Objectives:
- Primitive bridge construction skills
- Teambuilding skills
- Advanced structure building skills
- To take part in this webinar, register at Center Pier Wilderness Bridge Construction – American Trails